754 cam in a 302

[aaronkl84corvett]

Just curious who has this cam in a single carb 302?

Ive had the 30/30, 140, and host of other aftermarket cams in my Z. but scored an original 754 cam and have been thinking of going to the nasty guy.

I never had a problem with the 140 on the street other than having to stay on top of fouling plugs

just curious - I know its not a low rpm cam, but nothing about the Z28 is low rpm

[Steve Shauger]

For street the 140 1st or 2nd design are not very practical. The 302 is compromised torque wise with the short stroke. By installing either cam, torque will drop even further. If you like the sound idle then install. Performance wise both are not very street able selections unless you install 456 or 488 gears because they both like 5-8k rpm range for HP. What type of driving do you intend.

For overall performance I would select a modern dual pattern that offers quicker ramps and provide improved torque and HP.

[66cayne]

yes, what Steve said...

[cheveslakr]

My take on the 302......optimize it's rpm potential. You'll never make up the low end, all you can do is add a bit and kill top end in the process. I have a sj 302 that I built with 180 ProMaxx heads and good valvetrain. Went a bit conservative on the solid ft cam and regret it. That was in a light vega and 4.10 gears.

[Lynn]

I put a 140 cam in a 68 Z back in 1970. 4.10 screw and it ran awesome. That guy regularly shifted at 8k. I do not know if he had an M20 or M21.

My Z has 4.10 gears and an M20, so when accelerating, you aren't below 3000 rpm for long at all.

I ran the 140 camshaft in my car back in the 90s, and it was a LOT of fun, but not really a cruiser. Great power once you get to the 3k mark. Shifted at 7k, but it sure FELT like it would keep pulling forever.

Surprised you have had an issue fouling plugs. I never did. I used an HEI distributor back then (points work fine on the stock cam or an LT-1 cam) and remember using a different PV.

But then, the stock 302 isn't that great of a cruiser either. My 4.10 gear with stock tires means I am humming along at 3600 rpm at 70 mph.

I don't see the point in going with the 754 cam, other than the nostalgia. But, I GET IT for nostalgia purposes. If you go that way, and you have an M21 or M22, you might want to consider something even steeper than a 4.10 screw. I have a really nice set of GM 4.88 gears. Not sure why I bought them. Was thinking of doing a FAST car or even Pure Stock class. Have given up on ever being able to track it. Besides, now all the tracks around here are closed.

Just my two cents.

[pdphilson]

used the 754 cam in a 355 with 456 gear ...kinda like a 2 stroke when it hit 4500 rpm but pulled like a freight train to 8k maybe higher but used 8k as shift point --- used 292 heads -- think the combo was a good match ran consistent 11.50 @ 120 -- M22

[L78_Nova]

I have the 140 (1st design off road) in my 72 Nova. 358, faceplated TKO 600, 4.33 9-inch diff.. 11.64 @ 113 on slicks. Fun car ! I don't turn it past 6500 but it's still a handful powershifting through the gears.

[Billohio]

Aaron had videos on you tube of his car with the 140 when mine had it with the 4.88 gears. Gardner has sound bites of his car with both of their exhausts.
What would be the difference in the 2 off road cams?

[big gear head]

I put the 754 cam in a '69 Z28 with the original 302 many years ago. I had to recurve the distributor and advance the initial timing quite a bit to get it to run right.
the owner of the car wouldn't let me take it above 6500 RPM, so I can't say what the top end was like.

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by Billohio

Aaron had videos on you tube of his car with the 140 when mine had it with the 4.88 gears. Gardner has sound bites of his car with both of their exhausts.
What would be the difference in the 2 off road cams?

Bill. The Chevrolet Power catalogue has the full specs on both. Apparently it depends on which page you are looking at.

Page 3-52 (only specifies lift) says:
140 cam has .469 .488 lift
754 has 488 .508 lift

Page 3-17 has full specs. As for lift, it says:
140 cam has .481 .486
754 cam has .503 .508

No idea why the discrepency.