[b-man]

The 9779068 cam, letter stamped 'S' on the nose for identification, is the most versatile Pontiac factory performance cam ever produced.

Advertised duration of 288/302 intake/exhaust. Duration at .050 212/225, .406"/.406" lift with 1.5:1 rockers, 63 degrees of overlap, 116 degree lobe separation angle and a 113 degree intake centerline.

Yes it is old technology and clearly on the milder side. A low-lift cam perfectly suited for the flow characteristics of stock Pontiac heads with their low-lift flow enhancing 30-degree intake valve seat angle.

It had to be a good performance cam for everyday driving in all kinds of weather conditions, so the timing events couldn't be too radical. It is a compromise like all cam selections, erring on the conservative side for the best overall consumer satisfaction.

Let's take a look at which engines the '068' cam was used in over the years.

-1964 -

421 HO 370 HP Tri-Power (9770543 used for 1964, identical profile to the 9779068)

-1965-

389 360 HP Tri-Power GTO
421 HO 376 HP Tri-Power

-1966-

389 360 HP Tri-Power GTO
421 HO 376 HP Tri-Power

-1967-

400 HO 360 HP GTO
428 HO 376 HP

-1968-

400 HO 335 HP Firebird
400 HO 360 HP GTO
428 375 HP
428 HO 390 HP

-1969-

350 HO 325 HP Firebird
350 HO 330 HP Tempest
400 RAIII 335 HP Firebird
400 HO 360 HP GTO
400 RAIII 366 HP GTO (late year)
428 HO 390 HP

-1970-

400 RAIII 345 HP Firebird
400 RAIII 366 HP GTO
455 HO/RA 360 HP GTO
455 HO 370 HP

-1971-

455 HO/RA 335 HP GTO/Tempest/Firebird

-1972-

455 HO/RA 300 HP GTO/Tempest/Firebird
------------------------------------------
Pretty impressive list of factory performance engines. Displacements ranging from 350, 389, 400, 421, 428 and finally 455s both high and low-compression. Amazing versatility, Mac McKellar was clearly a genius when it came to cam design.

Some are manual-trans only applications, the usage of the 068 cam tended to become a little more conservative in the later years. Early on the GTO often would use slightly more radical cam choices as compared to the Firebird.

I like this cam for milder street applications, especially so for use in engines with press-in rocker studs or where the owner simply wants a moderate power increase without spending extra money to upgrade the valvetrain from stock.

All of the 389 Tri-Power GTOs and 389/421 big Pontiacs had press-in rocker studs, probably to their detriment in some cases.

Upgrading to screw-in studs is always good insurance, even the 068 or milder cams can cause the press-in studs to start backing out of the head with aggressive driving.

The 068 became well-known as the Tri-Power cam ever since it was used in the 360 HP 1965 GTO even though the milder 066 and 067 profiles had been used for various Tri-Power engines long before then.

It is obsolete?

Sure it is. There are many modern grinds that will make more power, today's cam technology has moved leaps and bounds ahead of the old low-lift lazy-lobe factory cams.

Worth considering for a great all-around cam for something you simply want to enjoy driving and get the same great Pontiac street performance these cars were known for back in the day?

You bet.
-----------------------------------------
Who here has run the 068 cam with success?

Original factory 068, Crane Bluerint 068 or Mellings SPC-7, not the Summit 2801 or similar.

Post your engine/drivetrain combos using the 068 cam and perhaps some 1/4 mile track results if you can.

[LATECH]

1964 LeMans
1965 389 block bored to 4.120
7H1 heads milled .045 to reach 80 CC chambers
Bowl cleanup, mild port work
Block zero decked
Crane H 272-2 cam
218in/226ex. @.050 112 LSA
2.5 inch duals with H pipe
Crosswinds intake with Q jet by me

Decent Idle, lots of power through the RPM range

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/jour...ournalid=87694

[68 Firebird]

I am running the Melling SPC-7 which is the original grind in my 68 Firebird 400
for a few years now. Yes to all you have said about it X2.
Great all around driving manners, and great performance.


Gerry

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by b-man

The 9779068 cam, letter stamped 'S' on the nose for identification, is the most versatile Pontiac factory performance cam ever produced.

Advertised duration of 288/302 intake/exhaust. Duration at .050 212/225, .406"/.406" lift with 1.5:1 rockers, 63 degrees of overlap, 116 degree lobe separation angle and a 113 degree intake centerline.

Yes it is old technology and clearly on the milder side. A low-lift cam perfectly suited for the flow characteristics of stock Pontiac heads with their low-lift flow enhancing 30-degree intake valve seat angle.

It had to be a good performance cam for everyday driving in all kinds of weather conditions, so the timing events couldn't be too radical. It is a compromise like all cam selections, erring on the conservative side for the best overall consumer satisfaction.

Let's take a look at which engines the '068' cam was used in over the years.

-1964 -

421 HO 370 HP Tri-Power (9770543 used for 1964, identical profile to the 9779068)

9779068 1965-72 HO S 288 113 .407" .447" 63 302 119 .407" .447"

9770543 1963-64 421 HO L 293 113 .407" .447" 63 301 119 .407" .447"

I personally owned one of the "Code L" camshafts and ran it in my 64 GTO:

The specs are close but not exact. The "Code L" camshaft has an advertised duration of 293/301 so the intake duration is a bit more vs the "Code S" 068 camshaft's intake duration.

From Wallace Site and I have seen the same info from Pontiac & HO Racing too.

Tom V.

According to Don Hubbard who was Chief Engineer for Camshaft Machine Company (who supplied camshafts to Melling/PMD) the Intake profile was a bit better on the 068 grind for camshaft dynamics.

[geeteeohguy]

I've been running a Melling SP-7 in my 9.3 CR '67 GTO for a lot of years now. With the small valve '70 #15 heads (converted to screw in studs), TH400, stock carb and distributor, and lazy 2.56 gears out back, it performs very well. Excellent low end torque and mid range, and excellent MPG. Very driveable in all conditions. A good friend is running the same cam in his stock-except-for-tripower '67 GTO with a 4 speed and 3.55 gears, and his car is a monster. Runs really hard. (but he still has the 670 heads and runs race fuel). I agree that this cam is a 'no brainer' for a street driven Pontiac. It does everything very well for such old technology.

[jerry455]

I had a 77 Can Am with a .060 455, gasket matched 96 heads, 068 Crane blueprint, 1.65 rockers, Q JET, cast intake, cheap headers, 2 1/2" exhaust, turbo 400 w/shift kit, stock torque converter, 3.08 gear and it weighed 4465 lbs without me in it. It ran a best of 13.60 @101.85 mph and it was my daily driver and weekend racer from 1983 until 1995. It made over 200 runs many in the upper 13's.

[Skip Fix]

One of my Pontiac buddies used an 068 in most every stockish build he puts together. "Scalds the heck out of the tires and has a little lump".

[Vince GTO]

I have a 70' GTO not a numbers car at all but I was able to find a 70' 455 4bolt main with 64 heads when I rebuild her.

The engine is stock. I removed the 068 cam from the GM tube and just lined up the dots. The only modifications are studs for the mains and 7/16 rocker studs. The car runs great Cliff rebuild the carb and it is just wonderful. I raced it for a couple of years but being a 4-speed it was not easy but a hell of a lot of fun. The best it did was a 13.67 at the tri-power nationals. The wife insisted that I should stop racing this car and I should build a race car so I did! So now it is a Sunday afternoon cruiser.

Vince

[Tim Corcoran]

I ran the 068 (Wolverine CS805) with 1.65 rockers in my 67 LeMans, PS, PB, AC, TH-400, 3.23 rear, 428 bored to 4.189 (441ci) with 9.0:1 compression, 6X heads, HO/RA manifolds stock intake manifold and Q-Jet and ran 13.60 in the 1/4 and drove like a stocker. I ran a larger Ultradyne cam in the same combo and ET was identical gained a little MPH but idle quality, low end torque and drivability suffered. I now run a 213/219 Lunati Voodoo 10510701 also with 1.65 rockers in the same combo and gained .3 in the 1/4. Idle and drivability is just as good as the 068 and off idle to 5,000 RPM power is improved. This cam is harder on the valve train and more inclined to have a noisey valve train than the 068.

[wovenweb]

Considering this cam for a '68 Firebird convertible. What is the most horsepower one can reasonably get from this cam assuming it is the horsepower bottleneck? In other words, you can port heads to xxx flow, tube headers, etc.

[Stan Weiss]

Here are a couple of scans I have from the old HO manual.

Stan

[David Jones]

I ran the 068 (Melling clone) when I first got my car with it's original 400 and #48 heads. Very nice. Then I swapped to the Crane H272-2 which was similar in size @ 216/228 at .050. That was nice too. I did a chassis dyno with that cam and the numbers were 285 hp and 357 tq. The best one was the last one I put in it, a Comp Hyd roller @ 220/224 at .050. That cam made the 400 seem a lot bigger and got it down the 1/4 mile at 13.20 @ 105.5 on some years old hard BFG Radial T/A's....I believe the 60ft was something like 2.10 or so.

[A.W.Dille]

I'm running the Melling SPC-7 (068 grind) in the 350 in my 85 Grand Prix. Runs good but should really pick up after a head change and bump in the compression. Pulls hard from 2200 on up to around 3500, (the most I've turned this engine to date). with a 2.54 rear-end it'll bark the 275-60-15's when shifting into second at 2400.

[Red GTO 66]

The 9779068 Cam with its wide 116.5 LSA and a intake closing angle of @ .050 39 Degrees

Just seem little bigger than a Crane H-272-2 or Summit 2801 Cam and more like a Crower 60916 or a Crower 60242.
Any thoughts on this?

[Ben M.]

I've got the Melling SPC-7 cam in a 400 with 6X-4 heads on it. Has been running great for the last 5 years since I built it. Originally had it in a '75 Trans Am with 2.56 rear gears and it did great on the freeways, got upwards of 19.5MPG driving 600 miles from San Francisco to San Diego. It's now in a '69 Lemans with 3.55 rear gears and a 3 speed manual. Pulls very well up to 4000RPM (where I draw the line) and idles like it is stock. Planning to potentially bump up the compression over the winter to give it a little something extra.

I don't track race so no time slips or anything and it could definitely use a little bit more adjustment in the carb department (has a stock 1977 400 quadrajet on it with some minor tweaking) to really dial it in, but so far it hasn't really needed it or felt like it was missing anything. It definitely feels faster than the Summit 2801 in a 400 I had with 4X heads and a 3.23 rear end 10 years ago.

[b-man]

Intake lobe.



Exhaust lobe.

[rtanner]

bman would you measure the flat area across the top of that lobe please, i woukd like to verify that the clones and the spc either have that same amount of duration across the fat or dont, thanks!!!

[Burningbird]

'70 Firebird with '68 400 WS block (360hp GTO). #16 heads ported to flow approximately 250/210 @ .500 lift. SCR is 10.07:1. Melling SPC-7 with 1.65 rockers. 1 5/8" headers. TH350 and 4.10 gears. Pulls hard from 3000 up to 5500. Great street cam!

[Sun Tuned]

I've been curious about these things myself.

I've got 2 Spc-7 and 2 spc-8 cams.

If anyone is interested and has 1 of each original they will loan me for a few days, I can carry the. Over to compcams , bullet, or Lunati and have them check them all and give me a printout on them then we can really see what we want.
I've been wondering about this for awhile....

[rtanner]

Originally Posted by Sun Tuned

I've been curious about these things myself.

I've got 2 Spc-7 and 2 spc-8 cams.

If anyone is interested and has 1 of each original they will loan me for a few days, I can carry the. Over to compcams , bullet, or Lunati and have them check them all and give me a printout on them then we can really see what we want.
I've been wondering about this for awhile....

yes, i dont have an original unmolested o68, but you can tell w the naked eye theres some holding the valve open longer duration on that factory cam than ive seen in spc cams, and i really would like to document it, that said if you scienced your car out w a spc cam got your best et and back to back tested w original 068 would there be anything there??? probly not enough to measure or so little it would be moot in a driver, but damn i gotta know!!!!