atlantadan

Having a 383 built by Karl Ellwein. 4 bolt main w/splayed caps, forged Ross flattop -5cc pistons, Callies compstar rods, and Scat forged crank. Breathing through TrickFlow 195's (as cast). Thinking about cam selection now...The car will have a 2800 stall.

The car is a 100% daily driver and it will never see a track. It sits in Atlanta traffic, takes me to work, and takes the kids to school. Now that doesn't mean that I don't want it to perform, but "omgthehorsepowerz!!" isn't my sole desire. Lloyd Elliot is saying either of these two would work:

212/222 .563/.562 114 LSA. – Idle-5800 RPM
“Sleeper cam” with smooth idle improving HP and TQ everywhere.

218/224 .570/.565 111 LSA. – 1500-6000 RPM
Great low and mid range power with very mild idle and will easily pass emissions. Works with stock gear and factory converter. Comparable to popular Crane 227 cam and GM 845 cam.

Anyone have any other suggestions? Once it reaches 25 years old, I will throw a thumper in there, but until then - a compromise between power, torque and smog is a must.

BALLSS

Dan

I replied to this in another forum but of the 2 you list here, the 218/224 gets my vote for what YOUR car use is

FWIW I went with the 218/224 but on a 113 LSA for the same reasons you want but I also hit the track occasionally. I do have "ported" GM AL heads though

atlantadan

Ok, thanks man. I didn't see that reply.

Eshaw81

Not to high jack your thread, but I'm building a 377 stroker and am facing one issue...where in Atlanta will you get it tuned at? I spoke with two shops, both of which claim they tune LT motors, but neither really sounded like they knew what they were talking about. I plan on either getting a custom grind done for mine or going with this cc503 I got sitting on the shelf. I'd like to know what you end up with and how it drives if you don't mind. Oh yeah...mine is going into a 6 speed Camaro with 4.10 gears.

hrcslam

What block work is being done, zero deck, deck height? SCR? If stock deck height with stock head gaskets, you're looking at .064" quech, or round abouts and about stock SCR. So either cam you want should work.

You could knock the quench down with some Impala Head gaskets, but that's still .053 quench. Getting it closer to .040" would be better. But that would be more like 11.4:1 SCR, so the larger cam would be the better choice. Maybe even the 224/230 cam at that point.

Don't forget, those power ranges are for stock displacement builds. The 383 will move the power band down the RPM range a bit.

BALLSS

He is in good hands with Karl doing the motor

4K+Converter

You may consider a custom y-pipe that you can swap in with more catalytic converters on it. That's how I got my old CC306, LE2 car to pass emissions. I had long tube headers, then the custom y-pipe had a 95 style single cat on each bank. It had daisy fresh emissions after that. I just put it on once every two years and then right back to open sewer pipes.

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

Dan, the custom cam you already have would be better than that 212/222/114 from Lloyd.

hrcslam

I never questioned the quality of work. I was asking for specifics, mostly quench and SCR, which is applicable to cam selection.

KW Baraka

iTrader: (7)

Just an FYI.....Karl Ellwein's NA short blocks are spec'ed to:

Flat-top pistons (-5cc) and are .010" in the hole. He provides or recommends a .026" head gasket.

That's his standard build.

He will install customer provided heads/cam for extra.

http://www.ellweinengines.com/ere383FlatTop.html

KW

atlantadan

Thanks for the input, folks. I got on the phone with Lloyd last night and chatted for a bit about the car, the build, and my goals. After talking with Lloyd, he's grinding a cam for me:

224/230 .560/.544 112 LSA.

Its got the same duration as the CC503, and just a touch more lift. He said this would be a great compromise between power and economy, and not overwhelm the springs that come on the TrickFlow heads. And he said it would pass smog in CA if need be with a good tune.

KW Baraka

iTrader: (7)

Actually......the same duration with a bit more lift......


But hey, it should still fit your needs

KW

atlantadan

Its been a long few days. What can I say...

Beastz28

iTrader: (6)

I am not quite as knowledgable as a lot of techs on here, but to pass smog I ended up building a monster, but just switching to e85. The ethanol burns so much cleaner that if you are put on a sniffer you will pass based on far fewer hydrocarbons.

hrcslam

Thanks, good info.

hrcslam

Good deal!