Hey guys I am building a 406 small block and my whole bottom end is just about done. But before I go on I have a crane cam which the specs are dur. 216/216 and the lift is 454/454. I want this to be a streetable engine but dont want to be dissapointed about this cam. Now I need some advice if I should go bigger or what. I have a edelbrock perf. intake If I kept this cam or went bigger would this intake starve the engine? Any help would be great. By the way the cam is a flat-tappet it is going to be a street/strip car. Thanks adam

 

I would think you could go like .480-.5 lift with a good deal more duration on an engine that big, maybe 230 duration...and that would be pretty "mild".....i'm running a .480 lift 230 duration cam on my 350 and it's pretty mild, has lope but on a bigger engine you should be able to go bigger on the cam...i could be wrong

 

Since Streetable is so debatable, I'd also suggest something in the .500-.530" lift range which with a Hyd. flat tappet cam will be in the 230-240 duration range. Comp Cams makes a split pattern "Nitrous HP" lineup based on hyd. flat tappets. The 274 model. 230/244 duration, .519"/.534"(1.6 rocker ratio) on a 113 lobe seperation would be a good choice. 2500-6500 rpm range, etc.. They focus on the exhaust being more aggressive because of nitrous oxide use but it would be a sweet cam still in an N/A engine with a badass sound That is the second largest in that lineup, the largest would still be a fine choice in a 400+ cube engine since a larger engine can support more duration while not being as tempermental on the street. Lift wise, you won't find larger lifts unless you look at the Extreme Energy grinds and they're either the same lift specs or smaller. Just my .02! Goodluck man.

As far as a larger cam and going with a larger intake manifold... This 406 should make sweet power down low even with a larger than you listed camshaft. Edelbrock claims 1500-6500 for their RPM intakes and the ONLY real step past that is going to a Victor Jr. intake and that is a serious step up. With a larger cam and more rpm, a Vic Jr intake would show BIG gains on the top end if your valvetrain is willing to hang with 6000-8000rpm. We didn't hear about what heads you're running but a wise choice would be to look at the cam/heads/intake/headers as a whole system. If you want to go big, go big with the heads/cam/intake/headers. If you want it streetable, keep the RPM intake, mild cam, mild sized heads, etc... My buddy a while back did a small cube stroker motor, vic jr heads and intake and big headers with a small cam. He had a sweet idea and the combo for a high winding smallblock but the small cam was a terrible choice. Everything was ready for 7000+ rpm except for the small cam so he had to go back and get more aggressive with the cam choice. Now he's golden..haha

 

Thanks for the input man ok on the heads (you have to remember Im on a budget)I was going to keep the stock heads and prolly run 1.6rr's which would bring the .454 lift to about a .480 lift. Oh and by the way I allready have the cam because it came out of the engine im rebuilding, It is allmost brand new w/lifters. I am going to be running headers and on the carb I have a holley 750. Oh by the way the motor also came with a pete jackson gear drive as well. I dont believe I will be turning over 6500 since it will prolly peak at 5500-6000. Yes it will need to be streetable.