I would use a solid roller if it was mine, but I built alot of solid flat tappet SBCs back in the day. One of the best solid lifter cams I ever used in smaller cube SBCs was a Lunati SP "Special Purpose" series that had 268/276@.050, 312/322 advertised, 590 intake 600 exhaust lift, 106 lobe separation. It's not for the faint of heart. Make that 302 really spin up. I built a 68 MO code 302 years ago to drag race, used a Brookshire solid roller cam, single pattern 288/288@.050, 680/680 lift, 106 lobe separation, used a lightweight forged crank, BME aluminium rods, Arias custom dome pistons, over 13-1 compression, Extremely well ported Phase 2 Bowtie heads flowing in the mid 290s, ported and extended plenum dividers in a Holley Strip Dominator, 850 Holley competition series carb, turned 9800rpm and ran 6.20s in the 8th NA in a Vega drag car. 7000 stall and 6-17 geared Dana 60 rear. That was decades ago.

I always base it off of David Vizard’s 128 formula, and make adjustments from there depending on type of use, fuel type, weight of car, transmission type, etc. For that little 302, I’d be targeting a solid roller based on a 110 LSA, grind 2-4 advance into the ICL, match the lift to the head flow numbers, and then target 170-180 psi of cylinder pressure, depending on cylinder head material- cast iron/aluminum.

I've used the ARP main stud kit that's made to take a windage tray. A really good modern cam to replace the 30-30 cam is the Crower #00321 cam. It has the same sound. 242/248/114 - 0.482"/0.504". It drops in and makes more power. Isky #235D valve springs drop in, at a slightly taller installed height of 1.75", with 130 lbs seat pressure, 350 lbs per inch, that will run to 7,000 RPM with this cam. These springs will handle 0.550" lift. If a larger cam is desired, the Crower #00322 cam is 248/254/112 - 0.504"/0.528" and also works well. These are solid, flat tappet cams.

I built a few with Ultradyne solid flat tappets 302 cu in I ran a 272/282 adv 238/248 @ .050 lift .485/.503 lash is .022/.024 on a 111 Lsa installed @ 106 int c/l .

Great video! Anytime I help someone with an engine they always start with, "I want it to sound like a race car!" It's hard to talk them down in fact they rarely listen without some serious and repeated warnings. I'll ask have you ever seen anyone drive a race car to work? lol I think what most really want is a muscle car sound, plus the performance that goes with it, which is much more realistic. Most small block chevy enthusiasts are happy in the .228-.250 duration .470 - .520 lift and 110-114 LSA. Overlap 55-70. Stray much from that and lose performance and sound or lose drivability to some degree. At least in my experience. Minor adjustments for gearing, weight, convertor or clutch and it will be good to go.

Cam ramps definitely make differences. My engine just built floated valves at 6200. Builder was surprised because it’s a common build. Thing is the cam he usually used wasn’t available so he chose another similar, but not the same. The ramps were faster causing the valves to float. He changed and tried everything. Finally he increased spring pressure. Shazam! Fixed. Little changes can cause other considerations. If I had built this engine I would have been ready to junk the engine.

The camshaft is the brain 🧠 of the engine.

Nice tip of the day. Thankyou.

I have a 302ci in my shop, this video is a wealth of knowledge, I'll make a plan, thank you

Allan, I'll watch for as long as I'm welcomed lol!! I didn't get a chance to pop by this trip down { family business}, but I do look forward to poppin in and 'watchin' you in action sometime this summer. CHEERS !

It was an objective process & I can see how it could be a useful tool. What weighs more between originality vs aftermarket & power. What heads did you use & the intake valve size? A 302 with 194in valves... your best cam is the one with 110LCA along with the Duration DV suggestion of 40-50. Why not choose a solid lifter version of Bill's cam. I totally get where he was coming from using a roller, less risk & wear issues due to todays oil chemistry vs running higher cost oils that will protect a solid flat tappet design. You can grove the lifter bores & even run an armor faced lifter to get around these oil issues... this will give you the best of both worlds & the 110LCA follows Vizards 128 formula. Now you have the best cam with the lowest machine costs, keeping his stock rockers & pushrods but I would upgrade to a minimum of a grower roller tip 1.54... maybe even an offset 1.6 intake & 1.54 exhaust, this will shift your overlap triangle to slightly favor the intake events yielding in more power. Remember if the intake manifold has zero carbon visible, there isn't an issue. Installing the cam 4 degree advanced will lower the rpm 200 rpms so your making tq sooner. For a 7000rpm, your exhaust is critical, where the high flow is vs low speed flow... a larger header can be made to work with plates inside aka reversion headers or you can offset a set of 1.3/4in. They make great reversion style by slightly lowering them via slotting the bolt holes. The 1in 5/8 are most common but at lower rpms you loose tq. Check out DV video on reversion exhaust. I'm lazy & round headers vs square exhaust ports = a missmatch... custom headers are crazy expensive so I choose to run larger headers flycut smooth with high temp sealer vs gasket. This makes the smaller exhaust port a reversion block. Tig Welding in small pc of metal acts like a one way valve. It really does work like he explains. Besides 1.3/4 fit ok if you run Allen head bolts & put the same sealant on the threads. Keeps them from backing out as easily. I Always run headers with a thick single flange vs seperate 3 PC. A 2-3in directional carb spacer is another cheap part that works.

Allan, yet another well-prepared, well laid-out , educational vid. Your personal knowledge coupled with your willingness to incorporate the knowledge-base of other engine-building elites, sets your channel apart [positively] from most all others .I'm curious as to whether you have,[ or would], do a vid on late-model Gen V, L83. 5.3 L Chev motors??? Deleting all the factory crap [ DOD/AFM/ VVT etc] might be educational and entertaining to some.

I hope you patent that chart, best I've seen,I think Tony's cam may be the one, but I would have that cam nitrided, and use the best lifters, like Trend hardend lifters, expensive but good!!, thanks for another good one, looking forward to flowing Tony's heads, that will be interesting,!!

Another super informative video Alan! As you described, PLAN, so many guys thumbsuck what parts they think they need and it doesn't run as they want it to, they waste time and money. The one benefit of the larger V8's and big blocks is they are slightly more forgiving, but a 302 small block with the wrong cam, heads, carburetor, manifold etc can really muck it up.

Appreciate you including us in the process. Tony's cam looks similar to the one I suggested.... I run from the 114 lsa. Absolutely lills low end......A cam in the upper 240's in duration and a 110 would be the best of everything... I think lunati makes a voodoo in that neighborhood....

Cool thanks for the info!

you can drill plugs .040 ish to blead foam and oil the timing chain- great tips

Interesting "weight" chart you've created. My thoughts are it has to come down to how important it is for the engine to sound original. If it doesn't matter a smallish solid flat tappet dual pattern cam is the way to go as I don't see stock rockers being all that happy with even mild solid roller spring requirements, at least long term. If it has to sound original, the factory cam is the only option. The "Z" guys usually park together at the car shows, and a "well selected" cam's sound is going to stick out like a sore thumb.

Always consider that the advertised duration can be deceiving. Especially comparing old cams from differing manufacturers where all sorts of tappet rise figeres or even valve lift figures were/are used. Just a .005" change in lash can make a very large difference in actual seat to seat duration seen at the valve. Lash can fool people easily as it changes the entire range of lift and duration figures you will see at the valve which is the only thing the engine knows about. Think of something like(arbitary numbers here) 320* adv duration with 250*@.050" using .030" lash. Then consider that something like 305*adv with 246*@.050" but using .020" lash can actually be the same or even bigger "at the actual valve" depending on differences in the lobe ramp/rate between the 2 cams. Sometimes I think it would be great if for catalogue purposes cam companies would show the cam spec for adv duration, @50 duration and theoretical valve lift with the recommended lash already take into account. This would actually give a far clearer picture for the majority of people selecting a cam. Also @.200" figures should be more widely shown in my opinion. Nice build too 👌

Great video and like the idea of having a project definition = what are you looking for with the engine and the car it will go into?? Perhaps you could come up with a short checklist that would help a builder make decisions and narrow the focus??

that cam will make good power. just one thing you need to check for on those "O" stamped rocker arms is that the slot is long enough to clear the rocker stud. you need about .060-.080 clearance between the front of the slot and the rocker stud. the factory rockers are made hardened steel, so you can use a die grinder or a Dremel to elongate the slot if you need to. the ball and the rocker wear together like cam and lifter, so you need to always keep the ball with the rocker it came out of. the best way i know how to check this is to make a "GO/NOGO" gauge out of .060, stainless steel wire and the bend one end to a 90-degree angle to fit between the rocker slot and the stud at full lift. if you have .060 you are good to go, anything smaller, then you need to grind a little more.

Smart man that !!

Camshaft selection is a booger! Do you have a chart like that for hydraulic flattappet/roller cams? Great video! You are like an engi e building encyclopedia, sir! If you lived in my part of Texas, I would clean your shop for tips and tricks! Like always, keep up the good work!

Both of you mentioned that you want original sound, then I would use the Isky repop of the Duntov 30/30 solid lifter, I just did a 327 with a crane repop of 30/30 solid lifter, 407 HP

Good info !! ......On the typical 60's hi perf factory engines for Street/strip use, I tend to like a cam grind that peaks Torque at about 1000 rpm Below the gear shift point or traps rpm I want to use.....Of course a fairly "Loose" converter or Manual trans usually required for best performance/ Drivability ......Compared to genuine USA quality cast/ground cam + tool Steel flat tappet setup with Everything checked/measured verified + propper Available oil,....Is Roller cam/lifters absolutely Required for street/strip driven camshaft Survivability these days ??

I wonder if the gm/comp stock spec. cam were checked at.006" lift for advertised duration, how much different would it be from the Summit version? It would be interesting to see how they compare on Bills cam profiler. Especially at .200" duration. Keep up the great videos.

Thank you for another great video. I asked a question about my sbc build previously and I have one more question. I have checked all my oil clearances for my sbc mains using a dial bore gauge. I found that the main journals 3, 4 and 5 have .0045 to .005 clearance. Is this too much clearance and if I proceed, would it be detrimental to the life of the motor? Thank you for your help.

Can not pick a cam without including info of compression ratio. Would be good info if you touch on what is a good IVC degree versus compression ratio/dynamic compression when picking a cam Awesome vids keep sharing info

You might as well cheap out and use the summit cam. Close enough to original, and cheaper than the comp cam. They're probably made at the same company. The bottom cam would be my choice on a 110 lsa instead of a 112. You could always look at comps magnum series cams and match it up as close as you can . They have softer ramps, but still make power.

Was the 302 block sonic checked? Looks like it has a good bit of core shift. Good video

One thing I have found on SBC's, is those 3 oil passageways are drilled from each end. The intersection is normally off so much that a .375" drill it will not pass through, even though they are factory drilled .437"...

I know this is outside the plan for this engine but I wonder what the power difference would be by using the 292 turbo heads from the late 60's Eric Weingartner did a video a couple of days ago about these heads. Add in a dose of DV on camshaft selection and does a Gold's Garage 302 make as much power as a Traco/Penske 302? And yes the intake and carb combination can be anything legal in the old SCCA rule book.

I'm rebuilding my Dad's 409/55 Chevy Hot rod and am very interested in designing a Cam for it that will produce Torque down low instead of at the top end where the current Cam is. I've been reading Vizard and watching your Videos but they are mostly dealing with SBC and later model BBCs. From what I've gleaned the 409 is a bit different than Std. BBC's. I have the Big Port 690 Heads and the 881 2x4 intake with 2x Carter AFB's. What other considerations do I need to account for Cams on 409? Do you do Cam Design or can you recommend someone who has knowledge of 409 Cam design? Love your Videos, I'm learning a lot from them.

I know this was a cam video but I do have a question on bolts, what hardness are stainless bolts

Whichever cam duration you choose pick one with the most lift.

To use stock O rockers better keep lift below .500

Great topic and learned alot! But I think you need to check the addition. Looks like the last 3 columns are not included. Excel probably dropped the calcs in those columns.

I would run around at Least 255° @ .050 duration cam specs for strong 7000 rpm engine performance.....

hard washers are the fix Great warning on the bolts is that comp cam a UDHAROLD design or a more modern profile? UD harold designs for Lunanti and Ultradyne were better, howard has the best of his profiles (all are obsolete), I sold lots of them in the 70's 80's

I think those studs are going to change the bearing size on those main bearings.

Dual pattern for street/strip car cam tech/test has shown smaller intake duration allows more vacuum better drivability.higher duration on exhaust with proper lsa pulls the cam to wanted rpm WIN WIN m.single pattern is going to be more of a bear to drive and only make 5hp more at 6500 up

Pay attention to what he says here @3:20 Actually, pay attention to all of this. He knows.

Any cam will work with 12psi pumping in 💪🏻

12-673-4 for the win! You’re going to love it….

You’re concerned about sound? Do you paint your fingernails too? 😂

Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour ! Thanks Allan. ps , do you have an address in the London area you can be found at? Comin do again this week.

That lift on the Howard’s is pointless. The heads on that 302 won’t breathe much past .490-.500 without some major work. As far as flat tappet break in, with someone as skilled as you I’d say failure rate is low. Use some Delphi lifters w that flat tappet. Great video!

The issue I see with this weighted chart method is you have a very limited selection of cam choices listed. What if none of those is the best choice? I'd be more concerned with giving the engine what IT wants or requires in order to perform in the expected RPM range instead of making that a lesser concern. How much overlap will produce the performance and sound you want without making the car a turd or less fun to drive? How much overlap beyond that is wasted power, torque and drivability? Why not use the Dynomation program Bill has as part of the decision? At what tappet lift was advertised duration of the Duntov cam measured .004"? .006"?, other? That would be critical in comparing the cams. Considering roller vs flat tappet, how much spring pressure is required with the solid roller cam and how much spring pressure are you willing to have beat on the valve seats under extended use? Obviously, the valves and other valvetrain components have to be up to task. I'd certainly question the rocker arm choice with the solid roller and increased spring pressure.

Rollers do not have faster acceleration than a flat tappet until way up the ramp- then they do, a solid flat tappet can have LESS overlap unless you use an inverse flank on the roller, simple mechanics/physics nobody is going to see the rockers 1.65 ratio is relatively easy ported heads can flow more at 500 go for it but do not buy a cam based on valve size which is just a poor proxy for the flow, go with the flow for those advertised durations you need to include timing after lash use SAE method timing at the valve where is that cam doc when you need it soft ramps and big .030 clearance on Duntov cam make comparing challenging back to the drawing board

Cam1 or Cam4 either will work great. cam1 lots of midrange power a tire shredder. cam4 lots of top end endless hp.cam2/3 outdated grinds sound good won’t perform as well as cam1/4

Those lobe separations are all too wide.

Oil galley? No. Gallery.

Your addition doesn't add up correctly