I'm so, so burned out on the LS that I'm actually glad to see a SBC...go figure.

The L 79 was perhaps Chevrolets best street small block. The L 46 is the most under appreciated of all the Chevy street small blocks. They both were strong contenders.

You're bringing back some memories... I had a 57 Chevrolet with a 327/300. It was very strong for a stock smallblock, but it just didn't have that choppy idle I was looking for. So I pulled the stock cam, and replaced it with an "off road Z-28" solid lifter stick. I didn't change anything other than the cam and lifters, so I definitely got the idle I was looking for, but I lost all my low end, and didn't have any top end either. Just about the time it started to get up on the cam good, it would fall on it's face, because of the weak springs. Later I traded for a 66 Nova SS 4speed with a 327 stroked with an offset ground 350 crank. It had a corvette intake and carburetor, a set of ported double hump heads, an Isky solid lift cam, and headers. the car came from the factory with a 411 Positraction rear, and that little Nova would really haul the mail. Was the fastest car at my school, but word got back to my dad that I was racing... so I had to sell it. It was either that, or move out, at the tender age of sixteen.

I had a new 66 ss nova with the L79 with a 4spead trans. My everyday driver. I just had sneaker cutouts on stock headers. I shimmed the valve springs .030 and adusted the hyd. lifters to just 1/4 turn down from noise. I put in a 488posi. I adjusted the stock diaphram clutch closer to the floor. I recurved the stock distributor. Traction Masters with big Packard rear shocks and M&H 6 and a half inch cheater slicks. The car ran a consistant 12.80 ET @ 111.11 mph. I ran at Union Grove and Oswego strips. I never lost and was protested often because I was beating 396 Camaros even without the Tree spot. I came out easy at 3000rpm and it was wound tight at the end. I never touched the stock carb. or the stock cam. It drove like a dream with never a problem but I had to take it easy on the highway because of the gear. Best car I ever owned. Sorry I never had it on a dyno.

67 box nova with a 327 is a beautiful thing!

I'll always have a warm spot for 327s. The high revver early ones had 2 bolt mains but i never heard of one coming apart down there. Love the high revs.

Richard, This is awesome......You are the king of youtube now with all of these dynamite vids you post up. I have been into this stuff deep for 45 years , since I was 12 and I remember all of these engines and all of the publications on them back in the day and to go so far as to even remembering the cam specs and what nots! It is great to see you bringing these back even tho most of the younger guys would not give these engines a second look.......and finally you have compiled all of the info guys like me wish we had years ago.....Thank you sir.

I know that was a year ago when you did this video I think it's a kick ass video thanks Richard keep up the great work

I had a real 70 Camaro Z28-RS/SS 4.10POSI- TH400!!!!! ALL ORIG! 350-370 SOLID lifters. Rare car...and it was very quick...but no a/c.....and plastic seats.....yuk. I would kill to have it back today. Never had lifter ask problems....but my other sbc did. Some pulled studs out of head, and that was why they kept getting noisy! Drill head & stud and hammer in 1/8" rollpins....End of problem. Another thing I did was add 1.60 exh valves to all 327 motors....with a cam, they ran Real Good..... I could type all day about my cars from 1969 to today!!!! 69 Z11 pacecar conv. 396-350 with Indy title!!! 34,000mi!! 70 MonteCarlo 402 4speed bench seat NO AC!!! All numbers matched on all these.!! Tons of musclecars in Omaha & surrounding areas.....70 Buick GS455 stage2!!!! 7000 miles. 71 Z28 Baldwin Motion Camaro 454with overdrive 7500miles( sold for $200k).... Not even the tip of iceberg......

When I was a kid my father bought a 1965 SS El Camino with a 327 and a close ratio Muncie 4 spd from a family friend it was a total rust bucket in fact you could see through the floor. I remember about 1983 riding in it and these kids pull up in a late 70's (Big disco looking Camaro) my dad tells me to hang on. We take off, he was power shifting and blew their doors off. Coolest memory. That engine was later bored rebuilt with new forged pistons, Torker manifold, 750 Holly a big Isky 292 Cam mated a turbo 400 with a 3200 RPM stall ( the Muncie was stolen) for my first car a 1967 RS Camaro.

This is another great test. I always knew that the l 79 and l 82 cams were pretty good for a decent street engine. We were able to even use the same valve springs that came with standard 250 or 300 horse 327 and then just change the cam. Suddenly you would have an engine that would rev really well, even a little higher than shown here. The reason was because the cam profile is very gentle on the springs. We also had to constantly adjust the solid lifter cars but not the hydraulic motors. The reason is because the lash of the solid lifters. The shock of the lash being suddenly taken up when the lobe moves the lifter up causes the nut to creep looser over time. Hydraulics don't do this because there is no lash to be taken up and the valvetrain is held together by the lifter preload thus no shock on the nut to loosen it. Keep up the great videos Richard. You have to be the longest running testing guy ever. I have been reading your articles for many years.

Had the same rocker nut problem on a mild hyd roller BBC build a couple of years ago. The nuts with insufficient crimp were from a major replacement parts brand. Crudely solved the problem by deforming the nuts some more. Your site is currently the most interesting for an old motorhead!

Would like to see an AMC engine tested they had some really cool factory drag cars back in the day

I have a mish mash 350 with flat tops, the L79 cam, fuelie heads and dz302 intake with an edelbrock 600. It fun light to light with 390 gears. Great video

Outstanding work Richard! I really enjoy seeing this series of dyno tests.

I have had the nuts loosen up before and start ticking on hydraulic cam on the dyno one time. I buy new nuts in bulk and replace them on every build that uses stock rockers. I use stock rockers on a lot of street car engines because they are quieter and the performance gain not noticeable. Some of the round track engines I build require stock rockers. The data you shared is very interesting the local round track requires basically a L82 in the lower classes. Thanks

Rich.....thanks for your content. I have many years of trial & error & great that your helping people with your video’s

Before the 1965 model, the industry standard for hydraulic camshaft cam lobes was 70 percent cam lobes. That is the 0.006" lift SAE duration is 70 percent of the 0.050" lift duration. Around 1962 Iskenderian started promoting high performance hydraulic after market camshafts and 75 percent cam lobes. Most all model production car hydraulic camshafts had 70 percent cam lobes for model year 1964, with a possible mystery camshaft in the Pontiac GTO, that was the same on paper as the standard Pontiac V8 camshaft, but had a different part number. For the 1965 model year, the L79 327 and 396 engines got new camshafts with 75 percent cam lobes. Pontiac switched to 75 % cam lobes on 4 barrel and tri carb engines for 1965. The 275 hp / 300 hp 327 Chevy may not have gotten an updated camshaft until the 1966 model year. Ford 390 GT in 1966 and Mopar did not update the 440 camshaft lobes, but did for the 1968 340 engine. The small block Chevy Q-jet carb and intake were more modern than the L79 intake. The L79 camshaft was ground 4 degrees advanced while the 350 L46 camshaft was ground straight up. In 1971 GM had a crompression ratio limit of 8.5:1, but Chevy got waivers to this limit for 1971 454 LS-6, the 1971 - 1972 350 LT-1 and 1973 - 1974 350 L82, all of which had 9.0:1 compression ratio. Pontiac wanted a compression ratio waiver for the 1973 - 1974 445 Super Duty engines, but GM wouldn't allow it. The 1975 L82 got a lower compression ratio, smaller valves and single exhaust.

Have an L79 66 corvette, still surprising for a small block. My dad had a 64 solid lifter 327 back in the 60’s along with a couple 427 (400&435hp versions) and said the best drag race car was the 327 with 4 speed and 456 gears. Nothing beat it if you didn’t miss a shift.

I had a 92 s10 with a 327 that is very close to the same engine as the L79. I absolutely loved that engine in that little truck. I had a slightly different cam, an Air gap intake manifold, and Holley 750 with vacuum secondarys. I eventually put a t56 behind it and it made that truck an absolute blast to drive. It had just enough power for the street. It hurt a lot of Mustang's and Camaro's owners feelings. I tore it apart 3 years ago to build a turbo Ls and haven't had the time to finish it. I wish I would have left the 327 in it and I would still be driving it

I am amazed at your history and details of Chevy motors ! I really enjoy your explanations that are easily understood . Thank you for the detailed info !

Great video Richard I would pick a high compression l82 with a hydraulic cam everyday And I love that the qjet is getting the respect it deserves These carb can flow up to 800cfm if the engine demands it 👍🏻😎

I'd take the hydraulic cam all day because it puts out more power where I personally would use it most which is every day driving conditions.

Yes have experienced the loose nuts, two nuts locked together worked.

I ran into an '85 Chevy pickup with a mostly stock 350 that the rocker nuts would come loose on. I replaced them with a new set of jam nuts but to no avail. I finally swapped on some poly locks. I like that the hydraulic cams put out more usable horsepower than the solid lift cams. I had a '77 Monza back in the early '90's that I bracket raced. I put in a 350 that was stock except an L79 cam and a set of Hooker headers. With it's stock 2.21 rear gear and 13" tires it would run consistent 14.0's and it was my daily driver with functioning A/C and it was totally streetable, even in the snow!

I bought a 55 Chevy two years ago and the seller included an old 327 engine. I needed an engine for my 66 Chevy C10 so I swapped in the 327. It ran great but smoked so bad that after it ran for a short time I couldn't see my house. I pulled the engine out and tore it down to see why it smoked so bad. It turns out it's a 030 over L79 350 HP 327 with 041 heads and an L79 hydraulic cam in like new condition. It has pop up pistons and the heads look like they have recently been reworked. The only problem was cylinder number 8 was rusted and very badly pitted. I had the cylinder sleeved and I am putting it back together with a re ring kit and a new timing chain set. It still had the old nylon cam sprocket. If I had not taken the engine the seller of the car was going to scrap it. I didn't know what I had but I do now.

Ok Rich. This is long. But it goes back to late 80s into 91. Had a 1980 camaro v6 white knob 3 speed Saginaw manual brakes I got from my dads friend with 23k on it for $800. & 1971 nova 6 cylinder sport for free with a bad power glide ( customer left it at our shop )that this goes back to ; starting with the camaro. Bought a PAW 355 lower end through car craft mag. Base was forged flat top - steel gm crank - with the lt1 pink rods - moly rings file fit all disassembled in boxes with 4 week turn around time to zero deck the block back then & paid in the $1350 range. 010 4 bolt block. I had sealed power down the street in Chelsea Ma. My friend @ the salvage yard had an account to buy whole sale. I got the 327/350 l79 cam kit with everything including anti pump lifters / .060 wall push rods / 1.5 steel rockers / 1.25 z28 sprigs & retainers ; about $275 total ; I had a set of 882 heads from a totaled 1976 vette With 2.02 - 1.60 valves & screw in studs with guide plates also in that vette a borg Warner super t10 i used in the camaro ; I put aside that 4bolt 010 block from the vette that had factory steel crank & forged trw pistons we just rebuilt for a customer at our family repair shop a year prior planning on using it for my 1976 c10 4x4. Going on a car craft write up..... I took apart the 882 heads & pocket ported under the valves myself ( took me two months of nights & week ends. ) almost killed myself trying high speed to go faster on the pneumatic die Grinder breaking 3 bits. Bought a cheater valve after my dad recommended it after a smack in the back of my teen age head Going low speed. Had the local machine shop take the deck down on the heads t0 get compression up & 3 angle valve job i did myself in my high school machine shop. I used an offenhauser 360’ intake with a Holley 750. After the assembly I did myself - Hei distributor - curve kit - black jack aluminum coat ak500 headers 1.5 primary- hays clutch 3 finger 11.5 truck set up - with a 8.5 posi unit out of 1981 turbo trans am ( salvage yard disc brake 3.70 ratio) I bent my own exhaust on my old Ben Pearson. 2.5 all the way & dyno max turbo mufflers. 4 core radiator & clutch fan with shroud. J bolt lake wood traction bars / m. Thompson Indy profile ss tires in the rear 15x8 with Eagle gt’s up front 225-60-15 15x7 on corvette rallies all salvage of the vette i had. Ok. It’s track time ; Best of 13.01 @ 103mph on the Indy profiles & 19.5 psi. After playing with the curve & 36 total timing ( all this was learned via hot rod & car craft magazine over a seasons time ) then on the last day before the track closed I read on 1.6 rockers to add .030 about on the cam. So I went to sealed power again got the rockers 12.79 @ 104 mph 😏 between all this I learned to launch correct & shifting @ 6200 rpm 1988-89 ish Next season : I went to the solid Duntov 30-30 cam with the 1.5 rockers & a summit tunnel ram combo 465 Holley carb - upgraded to a carter mechanical pump that needed a regulator from the street carter pump. Set lash @ .030 intake .030 exhaust hence 30-30 cam name - went with a Mallory dual point due to no space for hei. : all else was same First time out 12.67 @ 106mph My dad said take the valve lash sown to .010 on intake & exhaust to get more lift 12.59 @ 106 mph 1.6 rockers swapped 12.34 @ 106mph I had to change to poly locks due to valve lash changing with regular nuts Played with jetting & swapped to Mallory unilite distributor 12.17 @ 108 mph Ok. Motor came out & changed to 302 Chevy ( story to be continued on the camaro & old motor with dual quads went on my c10) 1971 nova sport - Used my vette l82 lower end & did an identical set of 882 casting heads like my camaro but did intake port matching & cut them down to up compression ( only reason I used those was factory screw in studs & guide plates due to $350 cost to do that @ local machine shop ) left the l82 cam with Rhoads lifters 1.5 ratio & poly locks. 1.5 headers - hei-750 Holley & offy intake i had - turbo 350 with a super hole shot 3200 - 3500 10 inch stall - 3.55 ratio - gm 8.5 posi i got from salvage I re clutched - with the same wheels as my camaro on aluminum corvette slots from an 80 vette a friend parted out- did my 2.5 with sonic turbo mufflers 12.68 @ 104 mph 70 lt 1 solid cam swap from sealed power start with 1.5 rockers 12.44 @ 107 mph 1.6 rocker swap 12.30 @ 108 mph 4:10 gear swap 12.01 @ 109 mph ( note : used poly locks on all the swaps ) & carb jetting Between this i had fuel issue due to 6 cylinder 5/16 fuel line & fuel pick up not supplying G. P. H volume & car ran 13.99 @ 99mph ..... my friend @ the salvage yard was at the track & helped me ....he said it sounded like it ran out of fuel ..... we pull a plug that was white & lean. Went back and he noticed the fuel Line .... also a kink ..... got a new tank - pick up & 3/8 line that fixed it with a good filter to flow. That’s my experience with budget builds & using the recourses to get better bang 💥 for the buck. Crane - Isky & earson cams back then were more money than today for valve train components..... triple of my sealed power. Car craft - hot rod & popular hot rodding did a great job prior the internet & you tube. Tech lines did not start getting good till mid 90s in my experience.... you would have to do it by trial & error. That’s if you took the time to read & stay on top of new issues. The other way was trying to find people going fast & that’s if they shared the combo & what they did ( that was very rare back in the day / people were miserable fucks back then ) the guys who went fast we’re old war veterans & most were not friendly due to what they’d been through. Thank you guys for fighting for freedom ( even though a lot of you were not helpful to our generation back then on sharing knowledge) I still respect you all. You made us learn the hard way for Reason- hard work = results & to strengthen the mind. F. Y. I on using the cams on factory performance to review : Cost was a lot less than brand names ; they were under .500 lift & press in studs use to come out in the older heads from gm; the valve guides were inconsistent on height & sometimes over .510 lift they would hit...... read that in the magazines.....

I ben eating holley carbs with a q jet for over 44 years now ! My holley buddies hate me . I get 4 , 5 mpg more than they get . And my q jet eats their lunch every time we race ! Good times 😁

Mid 60's my cousin was an apprentice machinist and he build a GM correct 375 Fuelie motor for his 57 Chevy. Backed with a 4-speed and 4:11 posi, it was one of the baddest cars around San Jose at the time. Not many wanted to take that car on. 396 Nova's - sure. But most full bodied cars stayed away. I was running a G2 Paxton blower 312 in a Ranch Wagon and on a good night at 4-lanes on the coast highway north of Santa Cruz, he could walk me by 2~3 car lengths. It was just one of those combo's that really ran when he wanted it to. He was one of the few guys who could really tune the Fuelie system. Great motor, good memories :) But I love the L46 cam as an all around good piece for a street motor :D

I have an old school 350/327 cam kit right for my local GM dealer still in the box and the lifters are unopened. I'm going to put it in a 76 Vette L48 with a set of Edelbrock E-210 heads i got a smokin deal on used. I wasn't going to use it but this vid and the one you compared the big flow aluminum heads has made me change my mind!!! Thank you and keep up the good work!

Another great video Richard. Cant thank you enough.

Love these classic muscle car dyno runs. Please can we have a Magnum dyno run.

Ran an L79 cammed 350 in a 1966 4Dr Chevy2 back in the day. Those poor mid 80's Camaro's, 70 to 80's vettes, and 5.0 stangs never knew what hit them. Always ask " what the he'll is In That thing ? A quiet deadly sleeper.

I always use solid flat tappet cams with poly locks and high ratio rockers. Holds the lash and more area under the curve. Never looked back, sounds awesome and pulls like a mule.

I would love to see a dyno test of the big Cadillac, either 472 or 500 with some basic bolt on's and maybe a cam swap. Not sure if those could handle boost, with their cast iron rods! But the torque would be the strong point.

I built a 350 years back with the L79 cam and about 9 to 1 compression 2701 edelbrock intake and Qjet. loved that little motor.

Hi Richard, Thanks for the beautiful video. I am a fan of the L79 and have been working on them since 1973. Very potent, especially with an M21. My current Chevelle, in the thumbnail, has this combination. I have yet to loose a street race. I had to lower the compression ratio to use REGULAR gas, but increased the roller cam specs slightly. With the carb and timing tuned to a razor's edge, it is a monster. I fortunately have two of these engines, a '67 and a '68. My buddy Bruce gave me a 350 block out of a dump truck which has 4 bolt mains and is made of a better grade of cast iron. The '68 crank, rods and pistons bolted right in. I'm using the original '67 intake and long tube headers. I absolutely love banging gears in that car.

Love these videos! because as time goes by (even 35 years ago let alone today) these things become more mysterious and i like seeing more factual info. As for the rocker nuts coming loose, i have had the pleasure of driving a tri 5 with an original l76 crate engine and even the poly locks come loose occasionally. Ive also driven an 80' l82 vette with an edelbrock head swap and headers, it was/is strong on the butt dyno.

I like the old school small blocks. I'm waiting on my machine shop they're making sure bearing clearances are good and the arp bolts are right!! Man, I can't wait to fire up that small journal 327!!! 😎

Richard, after watching this vid (for the 3rd time!) I bought the Elgin version of the L46 cam, 224/224 @ .050 .450/.460 and a 114° LSA. I’m going to run it with Vortec heads, a .030 over flat top 350, air gap, and headers. It’ll be going in my Squarebody. I just need to decide on a carb. I have a freshened Qjet, that’s for an 80’s 454, a 750 Edelbrock, but I’ve heard & read good things about the Summit carbs... we’ll see. Awesome, awesome video for SBC guys like me.

Definitely had problems with pinch nuts on performance cams. They are pretty much one time use, best case scenario. Thanks Richard! Love your videos.

My dad used to tell me about frequent valve adjustments with solid cam small blocks when he was younger. I personally have never had a problem. Becaue i have never used solid lifter small blocks 😆.

Its happened in a hydro cammed 454 (lunati bm2) only a couple stock lock nuts would back off ended up getting rockers and locks. Quick tip if you have a spare set of rocker nuts you can use them to lock the pre set nuts in place by double nutting them.

I have an all original '68 El Camino Malibu I bought from a friend in '70 who bought it new. The '68 EC with the L79 option came with an M21, 12 bolt 4.10 posi, front Corvette disc brakes and a larger exhaust system. The '68 L79 had an iron intake w/750 Q-jet. In '68 GM lowered the rating of the L79 to 325 hp in passenger cars but the same engine in the Corvettes was still rated 350 hp. This car was my daily driver until '78 when I bought a new pickup.

Always preferred the hydraulic flat tappet cams in my small blocks. Never worried much about the compression ratios. Most of the cams I run had around 0.480-0.520 lift. With a good intake and small Holley. Best sleeper I had I run a 600 cam two barrel carb on a 302 Windsor in a truck. Pissed off a lot of camaros with that truck ..I really liked the fact that my street motors were dependable, low maintenance motors that ran on reg gas.. that statement should help you guess my age. Synopsis: ain’t nothing wrong with a hydraulic cam on the street. I’ve run several motors at 8.5:1 compression ratio and had plenty of power to play on the street. Never ran big springs on my heads due to the mild camshaft so never had any problems with studs pulling out. Love them hydraulic cams. Only thing better is a hydraulic roller. Like your show a lot. Always learn something from you. Please keep the videos coming. I’ll keep watching them.

I owned a 64 Corvette with the L76 365 HP 327 Muncie and 3.73 rear gear. I drove it hard and did a lot of street racing too, back in 1966-71. Got Drafted. I loved that motor. Down low you had to be careful. Even at 3,500 if someone wanted to go you really needed to downshift fast and let the Rs come up to HP level. As your graph shows out. I did make a few mods. along the way. Headers were great. I was a poor farm boy trying to get thru college so I bought Jardins 4 to one but ran a short pipe out the side of the collector to the midpipe back on the street, with the collector caps off. But even then you could feel the headers helped with the breathing. Then some old timers showed me how to add the SCREW into the Holley secondary linkage to get then to open up earlier and cheat the vacuum secondary. But later a Speed Shop in Carbondale opened up and i found a kit to add squirters from the front accelerator pump jets that reach back to the secondary barrels. I had to drill two holes in the center plate but i think being dual plane that must have helped. But then I found a gear drive secondary linkage. WOW! that was awesome. with the Caps off, and nailing the gas around 4, 000 was one hell of pull to redline, speed shift to 2nd the Rs drop to 4,500 and just start pulling like hell all over again, 3rd the same and 4th the same. That 3.73 was a good gear with the 2.2 close ratio Muncie the gear change at red line always dropped you down at 4,500 ready to start climbing again. Once i asked a Chevy guy what else could i do to get more power, he told me to go to the 350 HP Cam. I thought that was nuts. But I think he was looking at the torque advantage. I was at light once and a friend had just bought a 6 cyl MG. I know but was acting out, but he never left the light. So i take of easy and go to second, then he nails it! I was in 2nd way down low in Rs. He screams by laughing, I nail it in 2nd and just had to wait, and wait, finally at 4,500 the motors starts its scream, Big 780 was wide open headers caps. But i finally got to him and roared past accelerating like a lit up Rocket. I loved doing that, but i did not like giving up that low end grunt. Over the years I tried and tried to match that motor but had no luck. I did have a 302 Z28 briefly and it was the closest I ever got. You know the LS with a Magnuson is not the same as 11.5 compression and 327 CU In at 6,000 RPMs .with that 30/30 cam. Wow. I wonder if I could work my LT1 in this C7 Z51 in NA mode to get back to that sensation. With VVT i would still have some torque Yes? What cam would get me there? With E85 98 CFM TB and bigger down pipe with cutouts. I bet you it would be close. Thanks for all you do, I loved that L76 and never hear about them ever. Dennis in Virginia PS Good buddy Benny had a 65 Vette 350 HP I always beat his ass on the big end of the Tach. I also had an 81 L82 for a but it was nothing, especially up in the Rs it dogged out. D

My dad had a ‘65 Fuel injected 327 all through the 70’s and he switched from the solid cam to the hydraulic (I believe it was the 350h/327 cam) because it drove much better. He told me the performance wasn’t much different for street driving. Whenever the car sat too long, he had to have the Rochester rebuilt, but I don’t recall him he mentioning any problems with having to adjust the valves.

The L-82 was a very underrated engine.

The cheap way out is to jamb nut the rockers, use a extra set of nuts, but the 30/30 can pull the studs out of a head , my dad had one in a .060" over 283 in a 64 SS Nova, it eventually pulled the rocker studs on a couple cylinders, I guess the lash had a slide hammer effect on the studs... We tried . 016"/ .018" lash, but went back to .030"lash. Great video!!

We ran (circa 1985) the Crane 272HMV with Rhoads lifters on a set of 461 castings on a flattop 355. Ran very strong at first. Then started tossing pushrods through the rockers. Replaced valvesprings, same thing, then poly locks, same thing (they WERE backing off), realized the studs were pulling. But only on the exhaust side .480" lift. (missing and popping thru carb) This happened several times. The last time my mother drove the car home from work, she blasted my father for letting it persist. Tore it all down that evening in late fall of '87. Wiped 6 lobes off the exhaust side and crank was trash. Rebuilt bottom end with forged, screw in studs/guideplates to the 461's. Went with General Kinetics 270hl (216°-.454 108°LSA) Never had a problem again. Midrange was borderline violent. Dead reliable. BOTTOM LINE: Hindsight, knowing what I know now.. Valve spring retainers were in contact with the guide bosses on the exhaust side. Early heads you really have to watch for this. They MAY bottom out as little as .440 lift on some factory castings. Clearance issues are not just limited to Vortec heads. ANY factory casting. Always check (or have your machinist check) for clearance before using.

Awesome comparison Richard!! I always wanted to know how these compared

I run Solid lifters on my 383 stroker... and Used poly locks on the rockers from the beginning... seems to be the best option.

When I used to run a solid lift cam, I had to adjust my rockers once a week sometimes it would catch me at a bad spot and have to adjust them in the middle of McDonald’s parking lot

I have used L79 cams in many 350 builds nice streetable cam in the bigger displacement with a mild loppy idle.

Show is always great thanks

I love this stuff! This the stuff I read about in the magazines as a kid but there was never any stock numbers in articles. I'm impressed how close the L82 was using smoggers, everyone claims smoggers won't make any power at all. I still have n old 350 from back in day when I was young, it's had several configurations over the almost 30 years I've had, it has 2.02/1.60 valves, bowl ported and smoothed runners 993's, 9.1 flats and 232°/.480 Howards ( "max torque" 112031-08 flat tappet cam the absolute BEST sbc basic hot rod cam I've ever used no question, great power evil rough idle without low rpm driveability problems) original torker and I still think it runs pretty strong today regardless of what forum guys claim. Years ago Super Chevy built a smogger 350 that made 365hp with similar specs. I always guessed hp between 325 to 350 area. Maby optimistic but it always felt oddly lively for what it was. Keep up the cool content!

I love these combinations and have built a lot over the years - I use the hyd 450 lift 222dr with 9.8 cr fitted to a 76cc combustion chamber ( better flow and not shrouded) and a Qjet with an aluminum manifold with awesome results with stock big value heads for street use great power to 5500 rpm- total cruiser on pump gas and a pleasure to drive with little mechanical maintenance. planning to dyno it and see what it actually puts out- have raced a lot in my day and always relied on lap times as an indicator of setups.

It's been a long time since I've heard the name duntov,the 30 30 or 20 20 cam,brings back old memories

That’s a great group of engines to compare. I spent some time duplicating the solid lifter versions some years ago. The 327 was an awesome street and strip combined with a 4 speed and geared properly. I used a 461 x head which really made decent power but ran out of valve spring until they were upgraded.

Love seeing all these dyno comparisons. I would love to see what was one of my favorite motors on the dyno with a few upgrades! The almighty 283! Lol I had one with 268 comp cam and 58cc lt1 aluminum heads. It sounded like a pro mod idling and would rev to the moon.

I ran a stock '67 327-275 (vacuum secondary Quadrajet) in my '64 Impala SS with a 4 spd. Muncie & shifter, and 3.36 gears for a while before adding a 327-350 cam, a spreadbore Holley mechanical secondary carb on a stock intake, headers, a Hurst shifter, and a 4.56 posi unit. This combination was so responsive and torquey from idle up to the 5500-5800 rpm range that people I knew with the DZ-302 Camaro's or 327-365 Vett's couldn't believe the low end difference I had compared to theirs that had to get past 3500 rpm or higher to get their power band going. We used to loosen the rocker nuts out from their 1 1/2 turns until they tapped slightly then tightened them down only 1/4 turn and leave them there which allowed the hydraulic lifter to act like a semi solid lifter and kept them from pumping up too quickly, after hearing other comments I wished that maybe I would have tried the 350-350 LT1 cam & a factory aluminum intake too, damn I miss those days and my car.

My dad and I put together a 400 Chevy block with 350 rotating assembly. That was the old way of destroking and making a so called 377. When you do the math of a .030 over 400 it equates more closely to a 383. We put old double hump heads on it with pinned studs and roller tip 1.52 rockers. We put a 510-510 solid lift flat tappet nitrous cam which is a 518 with 1.52 rockers. We couldn’t get some of the cinch bolts to stop backing off so we also put Polly locks on them and so far for two years running no adjustments have been necessary.

Great test, would love to see week one mods like intake and carb one these engines. Especially those equipped with Q jet

I ran a 327 , 202 heads , 283 crank, 11.5 comp pistons , inline early 2x4 gm intake with 2 inch spacers and 650 holleys, 525 lift , 292 duration solid lift cam in a 55 chevy with a Chrysler 8 3/4 rear , 391 gear and 4 spd .56 chevy straight axle ! What a hand full lo, ! Adjusted valves every Friday afternoon . It was very strong on the street. Lol , memories !

Those were some good old motors. I had the cam for my 57 olds 371 reground based off the l79 cam specs, worked good

L-82 cindirella story! I remember that article

I've always loved the L82, it was and is an underestimated SBC. I had the pleasure of having 2 of them, one in a '74 Z28, and the other in a '76 Vette'. Both cars surprised many a street racers back in the day, not believing it was a "lowly smogger with a few bolt on goodies, ah the surprised looks on their faces as I was blowing their doors off was priceless, but totally worth it... LOL

Let's see you test a 340

Nostalgia, I worked in the Norwood assembly plant while going to college and we put many of those engines in Chevy IIs and Camaros in the mid- to late 60s. As you said, those were quick cars for the time. Just for grins, overlay the stock LS 5.3 curve on that L79. I think we’re talking 30° less intake duration and similar torque curve. Modern heads really make a difference!

Great video, I’ve got a 67 Vette with the L79.

I always built our street engines for maximum torque. I ran poly locks on solid cams so no issues there. Never had an issue with hydraulic cams backing off the rocker arm nuts.

Back in the day when I was a 19 year old Twat , I had a 1979 L82 vette with an auto and boy was that smog vette a turd , I put a Marten draw through turbo kit on it that which utilized the Quadrajet ( google it ) that didn’t end well , I made up for it years later with an intercooled twin turbo 555 in a square body to lessen my earlier pain .

Love ur channel man!

Great stuff rich

11:00 Yes I know about solid lifter and the rocker nuts backing off. Look at the factory rocker nuts, if the nuts are round, time to replace the nuts or poly locks. The NEW FACTORY NUTS ARE OVAL. THAT LOCKS THE NUTS IN PLACE. BUT AFTER MANY MANY ADJUSTMENTS, FACTORY NUTS GO ROUND. AND WILL BACK OFF. POLY LOCKS ARE THE BEST OPTION @ 7,000+ RPM @ FRIDAY NIGHT DRAG RACING.

My first car was a 55 Chevy. It was an old drag car with hardly any original parts. I scoured the globe or at least any wrecking yard in driving distance for a L79 or a L46, it was like finding the holy grail. Most times I would end up with another 300 horse 327 with a worn out cam. So a new bump stick, intake, carb and I was set till that one let go. Those were the days.

Back in 1972 I put the 327/350 cam in my 72 Nova SS. It also had long tube headers, the LT1 aluminum intake manifold, a Holley 3310 vacuum secondary 750 cfm carb and 3.73 gears. That car would run the 1/4 mile in 16.0/86 mph. It was a turbo 350 auto car. It always felt sluggish until about 3500 rpm then it would pull pretty good. I think it suffered from the low compression the 350s had starting in 1971 and would have benefited with a higher stall torque converter knowing what I have learned since then. But I was a 16 year old kid then and I thought I had a pretty cool car at the time and was a fun car to have. And I never had problems with the rocker nuts backing off. The only people I knew with factory solid lifter cams were the guys with the 396/375 hp SS Chevelles.and Novas And it seems they were always running the valves. But I think back then it was also just the cool thing to do if you had one of those engines.

lol on the nuts, I remember dirt poor racers pulling the loose ones off and hitting them with a hammer to give them a super cheap new oval grip on the stud again...lol.

Another great video. Those two hyd cams are still very popular today, even though they have low lift and slow ramps. I would like to see the potential of these cams with a better head, intake and 1.6 rockers. I think the results will be surprising. I have the 290/350 in my 65 Nova (even "worse" L82), works good, but leaves a lot on the table. Going to ad a set of vortec heads, 1.6 roller rockers and a RPM intake. On a side notes you don't see these old grinds going flat like modern cams...

I enjoyed the history lesson just as much if not more than the numbers. First motor I built in high school started as a 327. Stuffed it with 350 crank, L46 cam(labeled L82 on invoice), Performer intake & spaced up 4779 Holley. Just enough power for high school kid to have somewhat safe fun & not too much trouble.

In '71 I owned a '63 Nova, when I got it I immediately looked for a new poweplant, found a wrecked Corvette w/good engine & 4 speed. 327 cid 350 hp, made that little Nova sing an dance I tell ya! Great comparison btw...

GREAT WORK!

My introduction to the L79 was in a 1972 Vega I bought in 1978, maybe 1979. It had a Don Hardy V8 swqp kit in it but it retained the factory Vega rear end. You had to launch it rather gingerly but once you got going it was hard to beat. I only ran it one day at a test and tune day at Milan dragway in MIchigan and manageda 11.41 and I forget the MPH but it was up there where a Vega was never meant to go.

Hi Richard, you are the best. I had a different experience with cams though. I once had a 350/350 type set up (dbl hump 1.94, 10.5 to 1, Torker II, 750 Holley, 1 5/8 headers, with a 327/350 cam. It made ok power. Then I switched to an LT1 cam and the difference was dramatic, I am talking about at least 30 hp and 30 torque everywhere. In addition I could rev the engine where the alternator belt would fly off before the power would drop off (6500+). Now I had an M20 and 373s but still my Nova while not being one of the quick cars was certainly terrifying on the street. Bottom line is that I would not recommend a 327/350 cam but would recommend the LT1 or the Duntov cam if you want to run stock type springs.

I was a Chevy line mechanic back in the day. We were told to replace the hold down nut. If that didn’t fix the problem replace the stud and the nut. The problem was the threads wore just enough they could no longer hold the tension needed to maintain the adjustment.

In the 60s, you were supposed to take your solid cam Chevy to the dealership to get your valves adjusted at least once a year

I had a 64 Chevy II with the 350/327, the valves never backed off at all, it had a four speed and headers and recurve distributor. it ran like stink. I would love to build another one.

I bought a used 1967 El Camino that had the L79 motor, 4 speed, and bucket seats. Still regret selling it after I started farming and needed a heavier truck to carry fuel.

Great comparison! It was interesting to see how accurately the GM rated the factory Chevy muscle small blocks. I would really love to see you do a W31 small block Olds (small cylinder head ports, big valves, and big hydraulic cam.) How does it compare to the 1970 LT1, the 340 Six Pack, and the Boss 351?

Think the L46 is best option compared to all the other engines in this test. Availability and price less maintenance than a solid lifter makes L46 a solid engine lol!! Great stuff keep up the great work Thanks Josh.

We use to pin the studs on the heads because the rocker wasn't coming loose, the studs was pulling out

I had an l79 in my Corvette when I was like 20. Now I have an L82 '76. Yes big difference. I also had a 71 with a 454 but the 327 was really snappy

I have been reading a 2012 article you wrote taking a L76 and building a 9.1 350 to milder specs 882 heads ported and 2.02 valves on a .454 lift. 367hp and 422tq, alot more streetable today. 👍

The car to beat back in high school was a '66 Chevy II with a 327/350 motor, 4 speed and 4.11 rear. My '67 Camaro came with the 327/210 hp motor and even modified could not beat the Deuce..

I have a 327 in my 1970 Nova. Got the car in high school as a 230 six with three on the tree. My dad and I swapped it out for the 327 and Muncie four speed. One of those memorable things I did with my dad who was an excellent mechcanic. We built it to the 350hp specs. It was definitely enough for teenager in the late 70's. Still have the car and am going through resto on it. Have always liked the way it revs compared to most 350's of that era and out ran many of them. Seemed like the 327 was more durable than the 350. Maybe it's the shorter 3.25 stroke. I can see how that might help them in the with response.

Always ran poly-locks on solid lifter small blocks. Not just the 30/30 cam, but the old 097 8/18 cam too. Poly-locks were a cheap investment to keep you from constantly having to adjust valves.But for a every day driver? Hydraulic is the way to go, NO doubt!

For those of us who came of age in this era of small blocks, these hold a special place in our heart. They are snappy gen 1 small blocks, and compared to the LSXX stuff....down right simple. I respect the LS technology improvements, I'm glad GM created it. But.....I can watch old school small block, and big block stuff 10 to 1. I know it's old school, long out of production, shunned by the younger ls crowd, but in a bracket race, small block don't care. That's how I feel, and I don't apologize for it. My 79 Monza has asked for a vortec headed l-79 327, how can I say no?

Love the show. What I didn't see was, lots of us back then was running 327's with the 151 cam but with higher s pressures 115/320 there was rocker studs pulling out of the heads. That's when the first stud pin kits came out. And then onto screw in studs. And don't forget those 461's and 462's that we had to drill the pushrod holes out on. I ran lots of 151 and 30/30 cams . They had there place. The l79 cam was great for a mild build. I found the 30/30 to actually be lacking in performance compared to putting in an isky cam and lifters. The hot setup then was someware around 240@.050 450 lift on 108 or 106. But needed a good converter with 342 or higher. Most people I rember then did not have 411 like everyone talks about for the street. Btw. I also ran the famous 186's and I never saw a performance gain other than the bolt holes. And if we're talking about performance back then nothing beat a good double pumper. I like q jets but that double pumper was hard to beat. If a person wants to recreate a performance engine of those days. The key to power was what we called super tuning. And it took time to set up an engine, but that's what winners had going for them. Thanks for the great vids.

I ran both the '151' and the '962' cams L79 and L46/L82 respectively in various displacements. I built a 383 with the L79 profile and it was definitely a torque surprise. Nice dyno curve comparisons, thanks.

I really appreciate the comparison between net and gross power numbers, my 74 z28 sure didn't have the power I wanted at the time but I probably would have killed myself with another 100 hp.