Cammershaft suggestions

[LongDongJohnson]

1988 Colony park, rebuilt truck 302, gt40p heads with tfs1 springs, xpipe, T5 trans with 3.73 rear. This is going to be a daily driver, not a track/strip car.

Im looking for a cam that has decent power in the low to mid range, and one that will cure my itch whenever I play leadfoot larry. So far Ive been told that the e303 is the cam id want. Anyone run these cams before, or would you guys suggest otherwise.

Thanks

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Are you still running fuel injection or is it carbureted? I only ask since if it’s still factory LoPo PCM controlled it probably won’t play nice with speed density, and you’d want to check the firing order. If that cam uses the HO firing order, you might be able to get it going with a Mass Air PCM from a Mustang.

[gadget73]

pretty happy with the Comp XE258 in mine.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I did a little scalping around here and some other forums on the E303 to update my original post. If you're staying SEFI, you're gonna need an HO PCM, since apparently the alphabet cams use the 302 HO firing order. It also seems they're not kind to speed density systems, so a MAF conversion would likely be necessary to get it going good.

Beyond that info, I really don't have anything useful on camshafts. Still got the stock stick in mine, and I've got a HO one waiting to go in. Personally I'd find one that would play nice with an HO PCM if you're DD'ing the car. That way you're not having to make any dramatic changes to fuel delivery and intake. That said, you'll need to go up to the 19# injectors if you're still running the 14# ones currently when you do the swap. Are you still also using the stock upper intake and throttle body?

[LongDongJohnson]

I did a little scalping around here and some other forums on the E303 to update my original post. If you're staying SEFI, you're gonna need an HO PCM, since apparently the alphabet cams use the 302 HO firing order. It also seems they're not kind to speed density systems, so a MAF conversion would likely be necessary to get it going good.

Beyond that info, I really don't have anything useful on camshafts. Still got the stock stick in mine, and I've got a HO one waiting to go in. Personally I'd find one that would play nice with an HO PCM if you're DD'ing the car. That way you're not having to make any dramatic changes to fuel delivery and intake. That said, you'll need to go up to the 19# injectors if you're still running the 14# ones currently when you do the swap. Are you still also using the stock upper intake and throttle body?

Itll be carbureted with dual plane intake. I scrapped the old motor and ecu/harness as they both needed -alot- of work to get it within an acceptable condition. Whoever had this before me tortured this thing with sloppy ass splicing and somehow got a fucking plug tip stamped into piston 4. How it ran and lasted as long as it did is beyond me.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Itll be carbureted with dual plane intake. I scrapped the old motor and ecu/harness as they both needed -alot- of work to get it within an acceptable condition. Whoever had this before me tortured this thing with sloppy ass splicing and somehow got a fucking plug tip stamped into piston 4. How it ran and lasted as long as it did is beyond me.

Ah, okay. Given the short mods list, I was thinking it was still setup around a SEFI LoPo configuration. Carry on.

[sluggish91]

1988 Colony park, rebuilt truck 302, gt40p heads with tfs1 springs, xpipe, T5 trans with 3.73 rear. This is going to be a daily driver, not a track/strip car.

Im looking for a cam that has decent power in the low to mid range, and one that will cure my itch whenever I play leadfoot larry. So far Ive been told that the e303 is the cam id want. Anyone run these cams before, or would you guys suggest otherwise.

Thanks

I recommend using a Stock Mustang Cam with Cobra 1.7 Rockers for what you're looking to do with your car. This will provide better around town drivability because of the 115 lobe separation angle, compared to the 110 of the e303. Also, the RPM operation range of the e-303 is advertised to be 2,500-6,500 RPM, whereas the stock cam is idle-4800 RPM (with e7 heads, and would increase with better cylinder heads, which you have). You'll have a lot more useable RPM from light to light with the Stock Cam/1.7 combo as opposed to the e303. Stock Mustang cam is a good cam. OEM Ford parts are better than people give them credit.

Just for solidarity (in a 88 Foxbody Mustang) I've gone a best of 8.1 @ 87.99 in the 1/8th mile, driven 80 miles to the track, sprayed 100 dry shot a couple times, driven home, no issues. Daily driven from 2011-2017 (my Marquis is now my daily) in the following configuration:
stock cam w/ 1.7 rockers
e7 heads
edelbrock rpm intake
shorty equal length headers
x-pipe
t-5z

I'm now throwing a 70mm turbo on this engine. Guess what cam i'll be using?

[LongDongJohnson]

I recommend using a Stock Mustang Cam with Cobra 1.7 Rockers for what you're looking to do with your car. This will provide better around town drivability because of the 115 lobe separation angle, compared to the 110 of the e303. Also, the RPM operation range of the e-303 is advertised to be 2,500-6,500 RPM, whereas the stock cam is idle-4800 RPM (with e7 heads, and would increase with better cylinder heads, which you have). You'll have a lot more useable RPM from light to light with the Stock Cam/1.7 combo as opposed to the e303. Stock Mustang cam is a good cam. OEM Ford parts are better than people give them credit.

Just for solidarity (in a 88 Foxbody Mustang) I've gone a best of 8.1 @ 87.99 in the 1/8th mile, driven 80 miles to the track, sprayed 100 dry shot a couple times, driven home, no issues. Daily driven from 2011-2017 (my Marquis is now my daily) in the following configuration:
stock cam w/ 1.7 rockers
e7 heads
edelbrock rpm intake
shorty equal length headers
x-pipe
t-5z

I'm now throwing a 70mm turbo on this engine. Guess what cam i'll be using?

I assume the same stick lol

Thanks that makes things much easier to deal with, and will be much cheaper.

[sluggish91]

I assume the same stick lol

Yes.

There is plenty documentation of people hitting 400+ horsepower and dipping into the 10's in the 1/4 with a Stock Mustang Cam.

pretty happy with the Comp XE258 in mine.

The COMP XE258 35-510-8 is also a good choice. This off the shelf cam has the recipe to be a great performing camshaft on the street. With its low 258/266 duration and high 0.533/0.544 lift, it will provide fantastic low and mid range torque. The 112 lobe separation angle will give a more defined sound. Piston to Valve clearance with this cam with be much tighter than the e303 and the stock mustang cam.

[gadget73]

The HO cam honestly sucks in a heavy car, especially if you don't mate it with a looser converter and/or much lower rear gears. Consider the weight difference involved here. They're fine with a 3.73 rear but pretty garbage with a 3.08.

[LongDongJohnson]

The HO cam honestly sucks in a heavy car, especially if you don't mate it with a looser converter and/or much lower rear gears. Consider the weight difference involved here. They're fine with a 3.73 rear but pretty garbage with a 3.08.

No matter which cam I get, the rear will be geared to a 3.73 posi

[LongDongJohnson]

Yes.

There is plenty documentation of people hitting 400+ horsepower and dipping into the 10's in the 1/4 with a Stock Mustang Cam.



The COMP XE258 35-510-8 is also a good choice. This off the shelf cam has the recipe to be a great performing camshaft on the street. With its low 258/266 duration and high 0.533/0.544 lift, it will provide fantastic low and mid range torque. The 112 lobe separation angle will give a more defined sound. Piston to Valve clearance with this cam with be much tighter than the e303 and the stock mustang cam.

What should the ptv clearances be, in the 120 thousandths? And I assume this will bump overall compression up with stock truck pistons?

[knucklehead0202]

I've got a Holley systemax cam i could set you up with for cheap. It's a tad better than an E-cam and again, cheap. Not sure if it's the systemax I or II but the specs are pretty close on them.

The crane 2030 going in my 347 is similar to that Comp xe-258. Same everything with a tad more duration. Hoping it's a good combo with the stroker and small head i'm using. Looking for good torque and strong pull to around 6k. We'll see.

[gadget73]

I never actually measured it. I did the old poke and hope procedure. 1.7 Scorpion rockers because the old Crane ones were whipped and I had them on hand. Stuck the cam in, determined I needed longer pushrods. Put the proper ones in and stuck the valve covers on. I honestly did not know if the valves were going to kiss the pistons, or if the rockers were going to clear the covers. I figured I'd just bar it over by hand and see if anything went poorly and deal with it at that point. Nothing bound up or gave me indications of trouble. At that point I basically just crossed my fingers and started it. Been like that for several years now. Runs fine, doesn't make any funny noises.

the HO type pistons have valve reliefs, which add a lot of peace of mind and room for stupidity. I've had the timing chain fall off the car and it suffered no damage to the valves or pistons. Not so much to the lifters and eventually not to the cam but thats a different matter. Lopos will smash valves if you lose a chain even with a dead stock cam. Explorer pistons have the reliefs too. I have no idea what the truck pistons are like.

[LongDongJohnson]

Its probably a good chance they're flats, since both trucks and grand marqs used bank injection in the late 80s. Ill find out once I tear the heads off lol. That comp cam really seems like the one im after, thanks for tossing in the board.