GM -140 “off road” cam

[travis]

I’ve got a NIB Crane “Blueprint” version of the GM -140 cam and lifters that I have been packing around for probably 20 years or more. This is a solid flat tappet cam and lifters, 257/269@.050, .493/.512 lift, 112 lsa.

Is this cam any good for anything? Particularly on a “hot street” pump gas 350 sbc with 4.10 or 4.56 gears and a 3500-ish stall converter? I was thinking maybe with some tweaked 062 vortecs and 1.6/1.5 rockers since they peak around .500” lift or so. Would 10.5-1 compression be too low for this?

[Old School]

I’ve got a NIB Crane “Blueprint” version of the GM -140 cam and lifters that I have been packing around for probably 20 years or more. This is a solid flat tappet cam and lifters, 257/269@.050, .493/.512 lift, 112 lsa.

Is this cam any good for anything? Particularly on a “hot street” pump gas 350 sbc with 4.10 or 4.56 gears and a 3500-ish stall converter? I was thinking maybe with some tweaked 062 vortecs and 1.6/1.5 rockers since they peak around .500” lift or so. Would 10.5-1 compression be too low for this?

I did this years ago. The cam works better with a larger engine. Make it a 383, the more compression the better. We did a 383 with an LT 1 piston, (L2304 ??) I think was the TRW number, 400 rods, and 292 heads. It ran high 11's in a 3200 lb car 25 years ago, street driven.

[427dart]

Back in 1974 I stuck one in my new Z/2B Camaro L-82 . Now at same time I added the then new Angle Plug heads,aluminum LT-1 intake and headers.
Think I had maybe 9.5-10.1 compression with those heads and with a 4 speed it didn't do much but sounded nasty as hell!
Also I was running a pair of original Chevy Corvair Turbo mufflers I got from a dealer. Those things sounded really good!

[rustbucket79]

That cam is a horsepower delete compared to anything made within 20 years of today and remotely better "spec'd" than that cam. Do yourself a huge favour and sell it on EBay.

[F-BIRD'88]

Yes it will work well. Lots of gear, convertrr and cr.
Might try advancing it a bit more on install for more torque. Say 105-106 in c/l.
Use correct springs if jacking up the rr.
Big single plan 750+ lots of rpm

Can also be a mean superchsrger cam

As said may be able to sell trade it for a better csm match.

If yiu can get a 5000 stall race converter and 4.88+ go for it. It likes rpm.

[CamKing]

Is this cam any good for anything?

Yes, a door stop.
Too much duration, not enough lift.

[Tuner]

The 140 cam has been winning races for more than 50 years. Isn't less duration and more lift harder on parts? How do they work with higher ratio rockers?

[F-BIRD'88]

The 140 cam has been winning races for more than 50 years. Isn't less duration and more lift harder on parts? How do they work with higher ratio rockers?

This cam works great with higher rr. The lobes were origionally used on the BBC 427 L88 with 1.7 rr.

[fdicrasto]

That cam was often called an "optional Z-28" cam. In its day it was a huge improvement over the original solid cam in the 302" Z-28. You had to use the orange valve springs Chevy offered for it specifically for the early Trans Am racing series. As previously stated it was suspiciously similar to the first design L-88 cam specs. Smokey even did a 1.7:1 rocker stud and rocker arm modification sheet for this combo besides his working with Chevy to design the dual carb crossram intake manifold for this package. I remember well when Dan Fletcher's dad took delivery of his 69 Z-28 and in the trunk was the crossram, tube headers and I believe the cam package right from Chevrolet. Cool times for us gear heads back then.

[CamKing]

The 140 cam has been winning races for more than 50 years. Isn't less duration and more lift harder on parts? How do they work with higher ratio rockers?

It's at least 20hp and 20ft/lbs down from an average race cam, from the last decade.

[F-BIRD'88]

This cam can and will work really really well in your planed 350. With Nitrous Oxide Injection.

You will really see what this cam is capable of.

[MadBill]

Back in 1974 I stuck one in my new Z/2B Camaro L-82 . Now at same time I added the then new Angle Plug heads,aluminum LT-1 intake and headers.
Think I had maybe 9.5-10.1 compression with those heads and with a 4 speed it didn't do much but sounded nasty as hell!
Also I was running a pair of original Chevy Corvair Turbo mufflers I got from a dealer. Those things sounded really good!

Guess we have something in common Dart. I put a 140 cam in my new '70 Z28, along with a cross ram, milled, ported and angle plug-converted factory heads (~12:1), headers 3" side dumps with caps and Corvair turbo mufflers.

Cam got sliced and diced by an errant con rod not long after..

[Walter R. Malik]

The only positive thing I see with this cam today is that it will work with marginally soft valve springs using a 1.65/1 rocker arm.

[DSRE388]

That's one of those factory racing parts like cross ram intakes and 292 turbo heads that were pretty awesome back in the 70's and it makes for a cool conversation piece or if you were trying to build a vintage race motor using factory parts i can see why you would use it but man you could probably throw a dart at a cam catalog and make a lot more power with whatever it hit lol jk!
I believe in maximizing whatever you are building to get the most for the money you invest but hey im sure it would still work just nowhere near what we have available today, jm2

[rp930]

Is that the old Phase 3 cam? Or was there such a thing?