I hope to be some help by clearing some of the minute details up:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogMeister
How's the idle on the Ram Air III cam? Thinking about upgrading the dinky cam and lifters in my 10:1 long-rod 461. Don't mind a bit of lope but not too gnarly. Enough vacuum for the power brakes?
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What might be confusing is that there were no "Ram Air III" camshafts persay;
What there was, were two cams that had been used in performance applications for several years prior;
The "HO" cam was the 068 - this one is by a huge margin the most comon performance cam that Pontiac used;
It was in all 1970 RAIII engines, as well as 71-72 455HO - and the same lobe profile and timing as the one used in 73-74 SD455 engines.
The 068 was also used in the earlier "HO" motors, as well as the 1967-1968 RAI and all 1969 RAIII engines when backed by an automatic.
Your 066 is what I might describe as one of Pontiac's "bread & butter" camshaft used between 1965 & 1976 on a ton of engines - this grind was great for torque, but not so much for higher rpm use.
The next step up is the 067;
I would describe this as Pontiac's entry level performance cam - it was commonly used on the performance engines - but never a Ram Air or HO engine.
After 1970, and through to 1976, the highest horsepower (D-port) engines
all used this grind.
On paper, this grind is really close to a 066, and I suspect that is why this cam is virtually unobtainable right now - I found one member with an NOS 067 cam, but otherwise, cannot find it.
There is an older Nunzie(?) version of this cam that was at one time called a 067HL - it is essentially the same, but with higher lift.
Next up is the 068 - nuff said.
The next is a 744;
This was for a time the 'Ram Air' cam;
It came on 1966-1969 'Ram Air' (Ram Air I & Ram Air III) engines when backed by a manual transmission;
Some would say (myself included) that this is the best sounding of all Pontiac grinds.
Others would say that this cam is crap because the lobes almost flatten out...
Next up is the 041 - it was introduced with the RAII, and used on it and the RAIV exclusively;
A solid lifter version of this grind preceeded the RAII by seven years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgarblik
The 068 Pontiac cam, sometimes called the Ram Air III cam is a very mild cam. The smoothest, "performance" cam for a Pontiac. Plenty of vacuum, can run with AC, any converter and rear end ratio. Good torque and power to 5000 RPM's. For folks who want a slight upgrade from the ultra smooth 067 run of the mill Pontiac cam, a nice choice. Works in almost any application. Worth 10-15 HP over a bone stock cam.
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I wold wholly agree with this post, but just want to point out (as previously mentioned) that the 067 which would be one step up from your current cam is virtually unobtainable.