396/375 cam for street 454?

[goinforbroke]

Was just wondering if a 375hp 396 cam .520 lift 242 duration 112deg, solids.(3863143) would make make a good street cam in a mild 454. Engine is 2 bolt 454, 820 oval ports, cut for big valves and milled to achieve 10:1 with .125 dome pistons. Dual plane intake, 750cfm 4150 holley, 2" headers. Will go in a 72 nova. th350, 3.73 rear. Current cam is a .520 lift crower hyd with 218 duration. Any help would be appreciated.

[WILMASBOYL78]

It should work great!!! You can't beat that cam for the money...you will have lots of power and that super "solid" sound! Next motor I build will be a BB with oval ports and that cam....good luck!

wilma

[Chevy454]

I would think it would work...our 10:1 L72 went pretty good with the stock cam (12.7 @ 108+ in a 3800 pound car on skinnys)...where those ovals will shine (mid range) that cam works pretty darn good...

[YenkoYS100]

I had a '62 BubbleTop BelAir with a '71 Vette LS5 454 in it with the Vette 4 speed. Car weighed 4000+ lbs. It had the stock '71 8.5:1 ? pistons in it. It had a GM 375/396 cam in it, 780 Vac. sec. Holley on a C396 Edelbrock dual plane intake, 2 1/8" fenderwell Hooker headers, stock GM ignition, had the #820 heads on it. I think it was 3.08 rear axle ratio? Car ran on regular gas (1980's). You could dog it, shift into 4th gear running 25 mph. Put the pedal to the floor, and it didn't buck, jerk, or anything but start gathering up the speed like a freight train. I loved that car and engine combo. Still kicking myself for selling her. Hopefully she's still in the hands of Delmer McAfee in Odessa, Tx.?

[markjohnson]

Hey Rick, it's strange that you had a '62 bubbletop with an LS-5 back in the eighties in Texas. I remember my my father bought a red '62 bubbletop out of Texas back in 1986 that had an LS-6 454 in it. It had a powerglide though instead of a 4 speed but it also had the big 2 1/8 Hookers and a Holley three barrell carb on the stock aluminum pancake manifold. Lots of similarities there. Try to dig up a photo and I'll do the same on my end. Car was red on red by the way.

[YenkoYS100]

I was living in Calif. when I bought mine from an undercover Downey Cop. It was white with red interior. Started life as 6 cyl. stick. I sold her to the guy in Tx. Tom Jacobsen picked up the car for Delmer from me. I'll try to find my pics.

[Keith Tedford]

I had an L78 cam in a '66 360 hp 396 4 speed Beaumont. It worked fine and got excellent gas mileage as well. In our L78s and especially the L72, this cam is excellent for the street. The cam lift specs include the valve lash, so you are actually running slightly under .500" lift. If you plan on turning 6K plus rpm, make sure that you install better than stock valve springs or you run a good chance of dropping a valve sooner or later. This caused the demise of most L78 and L72 engines, including the original engine in our L78 Chevelle.

[indyjps]

its a good cam, i think youll make more power without sacrificing anything with an aftermarket grind from comp cams or equivalent.

[nuch_ss396]

This is an interesting topic. I can't say I ever thought
about that combo before. Could you basically use this cam
with an L/34 bottom end & heads? What intake would be
recommended?

These L/78 cams are so hard to come by these days. Who would be a good recommendation for a "blueprinted" cam to
match original specifications? (Comp Cams, Crae, etc. )

Steve

[Stefano]

Jim Pace parts Wharehouse has an L78 cam kit for a great price. It is a blueprinted version ground by one of the big names. I have run several of these in the past with no issues.