How do I select the correct cam for my car?

My goal: 225-250 hp. at the rear wheels, cross country highway driver, low to mid 20's highway mileage.
These goals should be achievable with a car this light and a 302, right?
How do I select the right cam for this setup?
My plan:
88-91 302 roller block
GT40P heads
Edelbrock performer dual plane intake
small (450-600 cfm) 4 bbl carb
DUI distributor
headers
AOD transmission
8.8 rear end with 3.50 gears and Trac-Loc
15 inch wheels with 235/60-15 tires

I stress: not a dragster. or I would put in a radical cam, 750 4-bbl, Mallory dual point dizzy, ported heads, etc...

Has someone here done a setup like this?

Tips?

 

use the ford e cam will give you all you ask for specs at ford racing

 

Here's a great article for you, virtually the same build with GT40P's on a roller 5.0.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/1408-make-503hp-with-a-350-junkyard-302/

 

my sons 71 grabber has a stock 5.0 roller block but no roller internals from a 84 mustang gt350 with a stock rearend open 1 leg 3.00 and a t5 he gets 30MPG on the highway with chevron gas
this was with an edelbrock 600cfm carb he has a black diamond quick fuel carb now and gets close to teh same mileage

so just build your motor for stock applications and you should get close to the same mileage with an AOD trans.
I cant say exactly for sure but we managed to get this kinda mileage by accident

 

Stock gt cam and 1.7 rockers would do that.

 

call any cam company and give them the specs on your car and what you want to do with it...

 

If I can find it again, thought I saved the link, there's an article on line by David Vizard where he has charts and things that you use to nail down the best cam specs for your combination and intended use. If I can find it I'll post it up.

 

This one?

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/0607phr-camshaft-basics/

That dude writes a lot of info and there are many choices to chose from.

 

First tip is to build for wider torque spread in the typical rpm you cruise at. In you case.. around 2,800 - 3,200 rpm.

Second is to use a bit higher stall speed than stock because you trans will lock up the converter anyways and they never slip to the point of wasting a bunch of extra energy(until you get much wilder with stall speeds). This gives you extra torque multiplication factor and actually allows better acceleration without having to step as deep into it to get up and go. Plus, the cost is nearly identical to the factory unit and is a no-brainer while it's all apart.

Third. Stay BELOW 220 degrees in .050 duration, run tighter LSA figures and allow more area under the lift curve by increasing lift and using faster ramp rates. The trick is to compare the advertised numbers to the .050 numbers to get an idea of lobe design. The tighter the spread between those two numbers is.. the more aggressive the ramps will be. Take a peek at Lunati's Voodoo and Comp's Extreme Energy lines to get an idea what I'm pointing you towards here.

Fourthly.. keep the headers smaller to increase throttle response and low/midrange torque. DO NOT put a short tube header with 3" collector and matching 3" exhaust system and expect these little motors to make more torque. 1.5" primary tube with 2.5" collector is all you'll ever need for 325 - 350 horse motors.

Fifth. If you use the basic and smaller Performer manifold.. run a 1/2" - 1" divided or open spacer to improve mid-range torque. Otherwise, move onwards to the taller/larger designs.

Sixth. BUILD COMPRESSION. Mill the heads at least .030".. use a thinner and smaller bore gasket(why run a 4.100 bore gasket on a 4.030" bore, right?).. and run a 0 deck height to improve quench characteristics(.040" quench height is near perfect and reduces detonation tendency with lower octane fuels while also allowing more aggressive tunes). This alone with proper tuning will add much improved efficiency and make the other components come alive(especially a bigger volume intake manifold) to avoid power losses at very low rpm/reduced throttle response.

Seventh.. really can't stress it enough.. BUILD COMPRESSION. The motor will feel bigger and make more power everywhere.. even with a bigger camshaft. The more you have down low.. the less throttle required to get you up to speed and keep you there.

 

That's the one. They changed the way the article is presented since I looked at it last. The charts used to be located right with the associated text. You have to use the charts at the end of the article to determine overlap, lobe angles, etc. The one thing I like about Vizard's cam selection methods is that he came up with the data by running tens of thousands of dyno tests with various engine combinations and cams. He didn't just come up with theory and say "This is how it works, period". He has real data from experience.

 

This^^

The beauty of a AOD is when you are in O/D, the converter is locked whether it a stock 1600 or a 4000 RPM, shaft for direct clutch is splined directly into converter hub... There are aftermarket converters available that shaft fits into turbine so converter speed is still in effect, but for a highway cruiser are not a good idea..

The .68 O/D with a 3.50 rear equates to a 2.38 final ratio, or less than 2500 rpm at 70 mph...

Not exactly like what your build will be, I ran Trick Flow heads & cam(221*/225* @ .050 & .499/.510 lift) in my EFI 5.0/AOD T-Bird, could easily get 25 MPG with it's 3.73 gears & better than 26 if if I kept it around 60/62(has cruse easy to do)... That cam has a small rump de-rump, but works well with 3000 stall... At 3750Lb with me it's run best of 13.11@ 105, made awesome power...

BTW the pistons were flat top with no valve relief & .003 out of the hole, stock bore, super little motor... Of course the Trick Flows are only performance head I know of that can be run without valve reliefs...

 

The cam he needs is the stock F4TE roller found in all the Explorer? Mountaineer 5.0's and the 94-97 pickup and van 5.0's and 5.8's. This cam specs out as such: 256/266 (advertised duration) .422/.445 lift (.445/473 with 1.7 rockers) with a 116* LSA. This cam has a nice wide powerband from idle to 5500 (depending on the heads used) and works great with a carb. I've run it in a roller 5.0 topped with ported E7 heads (the exhaust sides opened up and bowl blended) and a Ford Racing A321 intake (this is the newer incarnation of the old Shelby "Cobra" high rise dual plane) and a Holley 570 Street Avenger. Also used a set of Cobra 1.7 roller rockers to boost the lift at the valves. In my 89 Ranger backed with a Toploader 4 speed and 3.73 rear, it got 18 mpg on the highway. Should be no problem hitting the low 20's in a Maverick.

 

if this is what he has...
"My plan:
88-91 302 roller block
GT40P heads
Edelbrock performer dual plane intake"
why are ya'll telling him how to build the engine?
the question was...

"How do I select the correct cam for my car?"
he asked "what time it was...not how to build a watch."...

this is why I suggested he call a cam company.

 

And as usual all you gave here was to make a phone call to a cam company rep who may have ben flipping burgers last week. And is likely staring at a computer screen like the counter person at the local parts house does (who was also flipping burgers last week)

 

not at all...
and the cam you ran was in a...
"I've run it in a roller 5.0 topped with ported E7 heads (the exhaust sides opened up and bowl blended) and a Ford Racing A321 intake (this is the newer incarnation of the old Shelby "Cobra" high rise dual plane) and a Holley 570 Street Avenger. Also used a set of Cobra 1.7 roller rockers to boost the lift at the valves. In my 89 Ranger backed with a Toploader 4 speed and 3.73 rear, it got 18 mpg on the highway. Should be no problem hitting the low 20's in a Maverick."

what does all this have to do with a cam for his engine...