camshaft swap for smallblock chevy

[jveik]

if i were to swap the stock cam out for a very lopey aftermarket one, would i need to swap the crappy stock heads on my 350 for better aftermarket ones and also run headers, or will the stock components be ok for keeping up with the hungry cam? some people have said to me that i need to swap to better heads and change my intake and exhaust to tap the full potential of the cam. they claim this is because the stock parts will not keep up with the cam and will hold back its real potential. any opinions or personal experiences?

p.s. is the loss of some low end torque to get high end horsepower worth it in a street rod? i dont want to swap torque converters and totally kill gas mileage even more, so it might be a limiting factor in cam selection lol

[cable_t]

Originally Posted by jveik

if i were to swap the stock cam out for a very lopey aftermarket one, would i need to swap the crappy stock heads on my 350 for better aftermarket ones and also run headers, or will the stock components be ok for keeping up with the hungry cam? some people have said to me that i need to swap to better heads and change my intake and exhaust to tap the full potential of the cam. they claim this is because the stock parts will not keep up with the cam and will hold back its real potential. any opinions or personal experiences?

p.s. is the loss of some low end torque to get high end horsepower worth it in a street rod? i dont want to swap torque converters and totally kill gas mileage even more, so it might be a limiting factor in cam selection lol

What are you going to do with this car? If you want to impress at the local cruise-in then get as lumpy a cam as you want, just watch piston to valve clearance. If you are racing then you got to go all the way with heads, intake, etc. To tap a lumpy cam's full potential then you got to figure on high rpm and forget fuel mileage. I'm assuming you are using the car for street use so stick with something milder with just a slight lope at idle. An L-79 spec camshaft has just the lumpy idle you need and still able to use stock components. And if you really want to fake 'em out...use a gear drive. Most car guys are hip to this but the wannabee's will freak.