[ponyakr]

now, for the cam itself--my favorite for the 455 is the cam the racin boys love 2 hate & badmouth--thats rite, its the old stand-by ra4. when used with rhoads lifters, it idles smooth, revs easily 2 5000, & will run hi 11's in a lite bracket car. & it leaves hard from an idle, even with a stock convertor. we've won lots of races & 1000's of $ with the 455/ra4/rhoads combo--so its 2 late 2 tell me it won't work--you wastin yore time! today there are lots of cams that will make more power than a ra4. in '87 we switched cams & gears 2 get out of the 10 sec range & into the 9's(1000' track) if my memory is correct, it was a cc 244/253-.525" we went from 10 teens 2 a 9.85. although i haven't used 1 yet, i like the looks of the biggest cc extreme energy cam. a bird in a hpp shootout ran real low 11's with 1 of these. this will probably be the next cam i try--with rhoads, of course. lots of guys on this site recommend crower cams. there are also some good lesser known cam co out there. you can get almost any grind you want for $150 or less. rhoads rl 9518 lifters are $116 at summit--buy matching springs & your in business. summit even has some small cams for $60. most agree, its almost like comitting suicide 2 not degree your cam. but i'm such an idiot--i never learned how. always just trusted the cam co 2 put the keyway in the rite place--& used a 4 degree advance key--& got away with it! if you choose 2 degree yours--there is certainly no shortage of info avail on the subject on this site & just about every other gearhead corner. also be sure 2 observe proper lube & break-in procedures for new cam/lifters.