[Cliff R]

The 455 is an EXCELLENT cam for 400's, 428's and 455's.

In a 400 build with RAII or RAIV heads and 11 to 1 compression hang on to your hat! It's a proven combo and has ran at the top of the pile in Pure Stock Muscle Car drag racing for decades. Of course you MUST team it up with taller gearing and torque converters with good torque multiplication (or manual trans) and there really isn't anything out there that will work better.

In a 455 build I like to see at least 10 to 1 compression using it. I've done a few 455's closer to 9.5 to 1 and it starts to become a little but too much cam for them as the idle quality starts to get "soggy" and power right off idle and lower RPM's start to suffer a bit.

In a 428 build couldn't tell you because I've never built one with a RAIV cam in it. If I did it would have at least 10 to 1 compression, a 3200-3500 stall converter and 3.73 gears or taller. In all honesty I'd probably push the compression up closer to 10.5 to 1 to help offset all that overlap........

[TRADERMIKE 2012]

Originally Posted by Cliff R

The 455 is an EXCELLENT cam for 400's, 428's and 455's.

In a 400 build with RAII or RAIV heads and 11 to 1 compression hang on to your hat! It's a proven combo. and has run at the top of the pile in Pure Stock Muscle Car drag racing for decades. Of course, you MUST team it up with taller gearing and torque converters with good torque multiplication (or manual trans) and there really isn't anything out there that will work better.

In a 455 build I like to see at least 10 to 1 compression using it. I've done a few 455's closer to 9.5 to 1 and it starts to become a little but too much cam for them as the idle quality starts to get "soggy" and power right off idle and lower RPM's start to suffer a bit.

In a 428 build couldn't tell you because I've never built one with a RAIV cam in it. If I did it would have at least 10 to 1 compression, a 3200-3500 stall converter and 3.73 gears or taller. In all honesty I'd probably push the compression up closer to 10.5 to 1 to help offset all that overlap........

You said: In a 428 build couldn't tell you because I've never built one with a RAIV cam in it. If I did it would have at least 10 to 1 compression, a 3200-3500 stall converter and 3.73 gears or taller. In all honesty I'd probably push the compression up closer to 10.5 to 1 to help offset all that overlap........

My 428 has the "041" Cam and factory 10.75? CR. Plus, a new Hughes Torque Converter w/1800-2000 RPM stall and 3.23 Gears. Maybe in the future I will add what you speak of. I can tell you this, the rearend is Posi-traction/4-Wheel Disc and will spin the tires like crazy, so I added extra weight in the Trunk so that when it rains, I don't end up in the adjacent lane, which has happened in the past. If I were to race this vehicle, I would certainly pull the Heads and service them depending on their needs, then add the Roads VV Lifters, lower Gears in the Rear and lastly raise the Torque Converter to higher RPMs. That is a lot of money!

First, I need to degree this Motor.
Second, I need to find out where the noise came from in the Motor. My roommate and I discussed this last night and he mentioned that since the Head gaskets Exhaust block-off plugs have dime size holes in them, the reverb in the Intake Manifold could be the cause of the vibration? My existing Exhaust flows out the Headers collectors and go all the way back to the diffuser. Since there is no crossover beyond the collectors the pulse wave could be bouncing off the diffuser and back into the Intake Manifold, plus, then bouncing off each other under the Intake Manifold, causing the negative vibration that we are experiencing?

We pulled the Oil Pan last night to inspect the lower Crank area and all looks well and no Metal to be concerned with thank God. We strained this good oil, just in case there was any debris and we intend on cutting open the Oil filter for a thorough inspection tonight. The Oil Pump, Timing Gears, Johnson Lifters, HD Chrome moly Pushrods and "041" Cam, all came from Butler and have less than ten thousand miles on them over the past 10 years.

One other thing that we need to consider is that since I keep this vehicle in a tent (cover type garage), we had a problem with smelling the gas fumes when the car was off the road. So, we innovated a Metal hose, from a laundry drier Exhaust, slipped over the Tail pipe to outside of the Tent. After a while of using this trick, I noticed that the Motor sounded different, so I discontinued this procedure. I believe we put too much pressure back on the Exhaust system and I was afraid that I might have overloaded the Valve guide seals?

As I said before, I am tempted to pull these Heads, since I am so far into the Engine and then we could see if there is any damage from advancing the Cam, plus, I could see if the Valve Exhaust seats were ever installed after this Motor left the factory. It would be advantageous to know if the Heads and Block received additional Machining?