1987 SBC cam question

My father in law is helping fund and give engine/trans to convert 87 2.8 to 350 camaro

The motor is 70 sbc, balanced and rebuilt .30 over, not sure of compression. Stock untouched heads, weiand single plane intake, holley 750 vaccum sec. TH350 with 3.42 stock 10 bolt rear

now the question what stall converter should I use with a Crane cam HMV278-2
duration at .050 222 int 234 ex
lift 467 292



what ballpark est. of hp/tq? looking to get a low 13 sec 1/4 for my wife

i would use the 2500 rpm converter because the torque might be low and should stall around 2200 rpm. you should look for a stall speed lower than the rpm the motor will travel at highway speed. if the converter is slipping and never fully locked it will overheat and burn the trans up. i would put a serious trans cooler.

if the compression is low and the heads are 1.84 valve you might consider a smaller camshaft and dual plane intake like performer rpm.

a 9.1 motor with 1.94 heads and your parts should see around 280-300 hp and 350-370ft lbs. the heads are a big weak piont for older gms. if the heads need done i would junk them and get a set of vortecs and expect 330-350hp

current combo should get low 14's, with good tuning possibly 13's but not likely

^^^^ Absolutely.

Check the head casting #'s at www.mortec.com . If they arent up to par performance wise stick them on Ebay and buy a set of hopped up Vortec heads.

Ditch that single plane intake as well...again,Ebay is your friend if you need the money...if not just stick it on a shelf.

Finding out the compression is a real decision helper as far as camshaft choices go also.

alabama cylinderhead is selling a vortec head that also has an older bolt pattern that would make that motor really wake up.