I would be happy with 550hp. which would be best to obtain the 550. solid or flat tappet... I am still open on my valvetrain, nothing has been purchased for it yet.
Ford545,
I have been away from the computer for the weekend.
Ralph posted a comment on page 1 that notes how important it is to
carefully plan a combo
before purchasing parts. Your combo is a bit of an example of how important that is, since you now have 13.1:1 compression ratio when you wanted to run pump gas, etc. Also, D0VE heads on a big-cube engine, such as your 545, must be ported very well, not just "hogged ou" ports. Bigger is not always better whenm it comes to porting and matching heads to a build.
The two issues I noted above (c/r & headwork) can make camshaft selection tricky. Mostly, without having an idea of how efficient your heads will be in filling those big cylinders it is hard to zero in on a cam. I could do a better job in working this out if I was porting the heads since I know very well how our heads perform.....but your portwork??? I haven't a clue, and while throwing up pictures of your port work for me to view may offer some insight, I usually end up telling the enthusiast that unfortunately he ruined the max potential the heads.
If I were porting your heads, I would probably offer a cam something like the Comp Cams XM288H or XM298H grinds, but possibly on a different LSA (depending which cam we are selecting). Also, you need to understand that your compression ratio will prevent you from ever running pump gas and that using a HUGE cam to "bleed off cylinder pressure" does NOT correct your engine's lack of being pump gas friendly.
I am currently porting some factory iron heads for other members of this Forum, and I would be happy to offer you a set of ported heads for a very competetive price and even accept your heads as an exchange (as long as you haven't ported them). I am in SoCal regulary and might even deliver.
Call or PM if interested,
Paul
310-435-1900
