[Cliff R]

Yep, I did it to learn about things like this. You can own the greatest software in the World, listen to "gurus" , resident Forum "experts", and watch all the Youtube videos you want about this sort of thing but NOTHING makes up for just getting out from behind your keyboard and getting dirty actually doing it.

There are LOTS of Internet "standards" folks regurgitate all the time and I guess we're just supposed to believe them.

9.5 compression for pump gas.

Advance the cam for more low end torque.

Richen up your carb because you put a bigger engine in it.

You need ALL the timing in by 1500rpm.

I put in a small cam because all I care about is low end torque and don't care what the engine makes at high RPM.

Get rid of that Quadra-Junk and put a Holley on it.

An MSD distributor will make more power than points.

........and the list goes on and on.......

Anyhow based on what I know from actually testing camshafts, intakes, spacers, carburetors, distributors, etc, I would NOT put a cam with less than 230 @ .050" duration in a 455 build right to start with. Even with good flowing heads and lower compression you are NOT helping things out with a small camshaft.

Attached is a dyno chart from a 455 Super Duty I did here a while back. It was close to 8.8 to 1 compression, I didn't touch the heads but someone had ground on them some decades ago so don't know the exact flow number, stock intake, factory Q-jet, stock distributor, etc. I did use much lighter forged rods and modern pistons with the thin ring packs in it. On the dyno it idled dead smooth without the first hint of having a larger cam in it. Made 16" vacuum clear down to 600RPM. Super responsive right off idle and made decent dyno numbers but done just past 5000rpms. The cam was a custom ground HR 230/236/112 LSA, card attached.........