Camshaft selection 350 .030 Over Build, looking for decent daily driving

[brody287]

Hey everyone,

I have a 1979 Chevy C10 and I'm rebuilding the 350 that came in it. I've got the engine out already and tore down to the block. I'll be looking to take the block into a machine shop sometime in the next few weeks to get bored .030 over and get the oil pan and head mating surfaces milled nice and flat.

The rotating assembly will be pretty stock except the .030 over pistons. Crank and connecting rods will be stock. So I'm really talking about selecting a camshaft, and I know nothing about selecting a camshaft.

I need new lifters so we can change out the lifters as well to match the cam or just buy Summit's oem style lifters.

My question then is really simple: what can I buy to get good daily driving performance but give myself a nice little upgrade over the stock camshaft? Looking to make more power, I'm not particular about the noise. I'm not looking for anything crazy, but I'd say my max budget for a camshaft and lifters would be $500. Any suggestions?

Edit: Also looking to probably do a vortec head swap at some point in the future after it's back in the truck (just a matter of saving and then building them right), so it's a bonus if the cam would interface well with both the stock and vortec heads.

Selecting a cam really starts to make a novice like me dizzy.

[Mike81K10]

One piece of advice! Carefully inspect it throughly to include the cylinder walls to ensure there are no serious problems prior to taking it to a machine shop. Get a good ultrasonic cleaning on it at the machine shop.

I failed to inspect my engine throughly prior to taking it to a machine shop and ended up spending more to build an engine.

[Shifty]

Call the pros at Comp Cams!

[bd]

Trucks are bricks on wheels - heavy and not aerodynamic.  They are also light in the rear when empty and designed for carrying and pulling.  It takes torque to get them moving.  To stay with a near-stock drivetrain configuration focus your search on camshafts that produce low- through mid-RPM torque.  That's the RPM range where the truck will spend most of its time.


http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=26161.msg217463#msg217463