73 351C 4bbl "Q" Camshaft

According to the info I have the 1973 351CJ is basically identical to the 1972 351 CJ other than the larger combustion chamber in 1973 which lowered the compression ratio.

The cam for the 1972 engine has the following specs:

270° Intake / 290° Exhaust, 46° overlap
.480" Lift Intake/ .488 Lift Exhaust

The cam timing events were 4° retarded for 1972 (and 1973). I believe this was through the cam, but I am not 100% sure on that one.

That's what I thought, but the info I have shows that the 1972 Cam was 4 degrees retarded, but as far as I can tell it used the same sprocket on the crank as a 1970-71 engine. From Bubba's site it shows that only in 1973 it started to use a retarded crank sprocket.

http://grantorinosport.org/BubbaF250/parts/parts03.html

Also, the 1971 vs 1972 camshafts have different part numbers, so that's why I figured the retard was ground in the cam. But again, I could be wrong.

Edited by 72FordGTS - 27-August-2013 at 3:13PM

Ford didn't measure the cams @ .050" back then like they do today.  If you put the best of everything, the cam before they retarded it, closed chamber heads, 4V intake and exhaust, Duel point distributor, you would end up with 365 HP.  I did this years ago.  I ordered the stock cam from a local Ford dealer.  It wasn't anything to brag about.  I can recommend a cam to you if I new a little more about what you expect for performance. I will tell you that unless your cam has at least 220 degrees of duration on the intake side,  you're not really taking advantage of the Clevelands potential.

The 206' 221' is what I would pay attention to.  It would make sence if they where @ .050"  206' will give you a super smooth idle. good fuel mileage & excellent torque.  Thats what the stock cam was designed to do AND keep the vehicle under warentee.  Now, in a 351C let's say a cam w/ 206' is stock.  a cam w/ 212' is an RV cam. Still has good torque and fuel mileage but has a noticable increase in HP. 218' would be a street performance cam.  Fuel mileage would suffer, but now you have a cam that would bennifit from a lager than stock carb. headers, intake & ignition and still have excellent vacuum to opperate power brakes.  224' is the largest cam you could use w/ your stock convertor in an automatic.  A rear end gear change at this point from the stock 2.75:1 to 3.00:1  to a performance gear set.  Let's say 3.25:1 to a 3.70:1  but there goes your fuel mileage.  A 230'cam.  @ this point your idle is rough, you may need a seperate vacuum pump to opperate power accessories.  Headers, gears, and convertor  are a must.   What I did was go 6' changes on the cam's intake and show you what you could expect.   When in dought, go with a smaller cam, like the 218' and you'll be much happier than if you went one step to large.  Hope this helps.

here's some Cleveland cam info I've been saving, some good 'updated' recipes by George Pence

ThunderOnTheRoad429 wrote: E-1225-P  would be my choise.

Looks like a 268H cam with no retard timing gear will work ok for street and not kill mileage? Anyone agree? Or suggestions. 73 351 Q code cj lower compression 4bbl heads and intake all stock w/4 speed 325 gear.

268H very good cam  or the extream energy which would give you a little more duration and lift on the exhaust side, which the Cleveland could use.