What to do - rebuild?

[Deuce]

Meat of post: If i was to get a stroker kit. 355. Keep the cam.
Is this a viable option?

I drive a VR 355" with 9.3comp and a short cam like yours (4502 Crow). It is such a prick fighting the brakes. It used to idle along at 13kph before you even touch the throttle (even when towing).
Bigger headers and intake mani helped drop idle torque. But stally is what I really need at some stage.

P.S going from 3.08 gears to 3.45 gears changed cruise rpm on the highway from 1900 to 2100. Basically nothing really and you soon get used to it.

 

[Dean1985]

Thanks @EYY.
I believe i will drop at 284 in and go with that.

Whats the g.o with the brakes issue with a bigger cam?
Does it help that im running a dual diaphragm booster? (If its a vacuum issue).

What would be the notable downsides to a 284 (other than temptation to spin wheels)

Thanks again all you posters. Amazing work.

 

[Vin999]

Hey Dean, Listen to Eyy and Gtrboyy’s posts @ very good advice and don’t make the same misteak twice, ditch the 268 beache.

The 268 and 276 cams are basically what HSV used with a compression of 9.0. Standard ratio is 8.5. HSV ran twin throttle body manifolds and had larger valves in basic heads.

On stall info, standard stock engine stall is 1600 to 1800 revs, so choose stall speed to suit the power band of your cam basically. Cam manufacturers give the safe rev range.

The 268 powerband is 1500 to 4000 revs.
The 276 powerband is 1800 to 4500 revs
The 284 powerband is 2200 to 5500 revs so a 2800 stall is ideal.
The 286 powerband is 2500 to 6000 revs so a 3000 stall is ideal.
The 284 n 286 need a 9.5 ratio minimum

If you choose a much higher stall it just means you will bolt/flash out like a rabbit immediately and then quickly turn into a turtle losing power.
All these cams can drive ok like sheep with the standard stall. Like EYY said you need to drive a stalled car and have the right foot problem understand the driving benefits. But these cams need a good diff ratio, stall, headwork and exhaust to benefit fully.

 

[afstruct]

As everyone is saying, you have a great base , swap to the right cam , stall, an diff = you'll absolutely love = great sound and performance = you'll not be disappointed = where it's atm = a very entertaining classic/ older daily = dam I miss dailying my vs maloo= soo much character compared to the hatch= daily = absolutely enjoy it while you can

 

[Deuce]

Whats the g.o with the brakes issue with a bigger cam?
Does it help that im running a dual diaphragm booster? (If its a vacuum issue).

I found that it is basically the motor making too much torque at idle.
The engine wants to go and you need to hold it on the brakes.
A bigger cam will solve the problem as it moves torque up the RPM range, or more stall speed on the converter as that will slip more torque at idle.
You won't want to over do the cam without upping stall as it would be doughy real early in the RPM. And as mentioned, you have a lock up converter so large stall speed isn't an issue for you at highway cruise.

 

[EYY]

Idle speed is issue with pushing on the brakes. The larger the cam, the higher the idle needs to be for it to run smoothly without too much chop or risk of stalling. At standard idle speed you generally won’t have issues with pushing on the brakes but may have stalling issues coming to a stop etc.

Keep in mind that the 284 is still a baby in the camshaft world. You won’t have issues. If you haven’t already, it may be worth considering a vt front brake upgrade. The stock brakes are scary with a v8.

 

[someguy360]

The stock brakes are scary with a v8.

Ain't that the thruth

 

[vr304]

Yip I’ve always wondered why they put such piss poor brakes on a big heavy car with a v8 up front, even my VE SS brakes aren’t all that great in my opinion anyway getting off topic now lol

 

[Vin999]

Yip I’ve always wondered why they put such piss poor brakes on a big heavy car with a v8 up front, even my VE SS brakes aren’t all that great in my opinion anyway getting off topic now lol

going downhill with an auto and no engine braking is a thrill, why auto drivers have hand on h/brake lever not the trans lever

 

[VS 5.0]

even my VE SS brakes aren’t all that great in my opinion

I'm glad mine has the Brembos.