crane vs lunati

[grumpyvette]

Hi Grumpy,
I'm looking for a replacement cam for my 327/275hp motor. Its all stock except it will be running an Edelbrock 2703 performer manifold and Edlebrock 1406 600 cfm carb.

I called both Crane and Lunati for cam suggestions letting them know what I had (a 66 Impala, 4 speed and either a 3.08 or 3.36 rear).
Crane suggested a 114132 cam
Lunati suggested a 10120702 cam

Do you have an opinion on either of these cams or Crane vs. Lunati for that matter?

The cam I want is a low rpm cam that allows for good torque and not a high rpm requirement (4000 rpm is about as much as I would push this motor)

Thanks for your opinion in advance.

Both cam manufacturers produce decent cams and theres little question that the lunati cam you listed will, compared to the crane cam youve listed, produce a bit better peak power as both lift and duration are greater and the lunati is designed to produce a power band a bit higher in the rpm range.
Ive used that crane 114132 at least 10 times in engine builds, so I pretty much know what to expect from it and it seems to me looking at the specs, of both cams that it would match your stated needs far better than the lunati in this particular case, which is designed to produce a bit more power but at a HIGHER average rpm band. If your limited to 4000rpm I doubt youll like the trade-off in potential power that youll seldom access with the lunati vs the better low rpm torque the milder crane cam is very likely to produce, I would point out that the crane cam likes 1.6:1 ratio rockers if thats an option.
you could use either cam and get decent results but if your concentrating on maximizing low rpm power band torque rather than peak power the crane is the route Id take, unless you have swapped to something like 3.54:1-3.73:1 rear gears


lunati
Duration at 050 inch Lift: 219 int./227 exh. 112 lsa
Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio: 0.468 int./0.489 exh.

crane
Duration at 050 inch Lift: 210 int./216 exh. 112 lsa
Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio: 0.440 int./0.454 exh.