390 cam suggestions

[Dogma270]

I am new to posting her but have been reading a lot of postings since I bought my 1970 F250 camper special in March of 2016. It has a 390 2v with a C6. 3:73 gears in the rear. PS, PB discs on the front, dealer installed ac, and pretty much rust free. Last fall I upgraded to a Holley 4160 600cfm 4bbl and a street master intake. Sanderson ceramic shorty headers and 2.5 dual exhaust. The motor and transmission was rebuilt approx. 20k miles ago by the PO. Shortly after the carb swap, a fuel line broke and the motor caught on fire. It is a weekend lumber getter and boat hauler so I want low end torque and good power to 65 mph. Don't plan to do much interstate driving. I have pulled the intake, accessories, water pump and timing chain as well as the cam itself. When it was running, it didn't seem to have much low end torque . The existing cam has 643 c on the end with a few other markings on the shaft itself. All this to say, I need help with selecting a new cam, lifters, double roller timing chain set for my set up. Thanks for any advice as I have been a Jeep guy in the past and this is my first FE.

[DuckRyder]

Does the cam have any paint stripes on it and do you think it is a factory cam or aftermarket?

Do you know what pistons are in it?

Interestingly enough: CS-643 is the part number for a Sealed Power camshaft for an FE

What are the other markings.

[Dogma270]

I'm sure it is a newer cam by the lack of wear. It has purple and yellow(I think) paint on it. No idea about the Pistons.

[goody]

Hi, How do the Sanderson Shorty Headers fit your F250?
Thank You,
Don.

[colnago]

Shortly after the carb swap, a fuel line broke and the motor caught on fire.

Hey, I did that one, too! Forgot to hook the fuel line back to the carb, got a backfire through the carb on (attempted) start-up, and I had a small fire under the hood. Took me a few days to revive the old girl (replacing all of the melted plastic), but she's back on the road. I was a bit disappointed that she didn't just light up and leave a crater in the driveway, like they do in the movies. So much for all of the hype about gasoline fires.

Back on topic, you might get a bit more low-end if you swap the 3.73 for a 4.10. That's kind of ironic. I have 4.10 gearing in my '67 CS, and I'm trying to find a 3.54 to swap in, so I can get better freeway mileage. It will probably never happen, since it's really a daily driver and weekend hauler, so it never gets out of town. If I do get on the freeway, it howls if I get over 55.

I'm finishing a rebuild on a 352, and am using an Engine Pro MC1776 camshaft. It's supposed to be good for low-end torque applications. I am aiming for the end of September to have it installed and fired up. Hopefully, I'll remember the fuel line this time!

Joseph

[farmallmta]

I believe the cam you're after will be what is called the RV cam, developed for excellent lower RPM torque. The streetmaster is a good manifold for low RPM torque, also. The RV cam is 204/214 intake/exhaust, a good improvement over the stock cam of 194/204 or less. I use a 2bbl carb on all my truck FE engines. Better economy, better torque, fewer maintenance issues, better drivability. Mine are all equipped with the factory manual chokes. Also, use the factory air cleaner with the heat riser snorkels. You can grab a bit more free power by fixing up a cold air intake, either through ducting to the grill or by using the '59-'79 Super Duty fresh air scoop on the hood, turned backwards as installed by Ford (because the highest pressure area at road speed above the hood is just ahead of the windshield, thus more cool air flow to the carburetor). Ford really did a good job of equipping these trucks to run right from the factory.

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