Where can I get original Pontiac cam specs. I checked out seven sites and got a lot of different specs for the 744 cam.
All seven agreed the advertised duration was 301/313.
The five that listed the duration at 50 agreed at 224/236.
Of the six that stated the lift at 50- two had 407, three had 408 and one at 410 for intake and five had 407 and one at 410 for the exhaust.
Of the five that stated the over-lap all had 76.
The LSA has one at 112.5, one at 114.5, one at 115, two at 115.5 and one at 119.
I'm not saying I don't appreciate someone going out of his/her way listing what they honestly believe to be factual specs, I do. I've gotten a lot of valuable info from a lot of people who have volunteered their time and knowledge. I'd like to find out what Pontiac listed the specs at.
According to Melling, the "vendor" to GM for the cam, "advertised" duration is 297/310. @.050" is 224/236. LSA is 115.5. Lift w/1.5 rockers is .407.
All this is interesting, but what is your purpose? That cam was deemed obsolete by Pontiac in 1970. 068 was the "replacement" (not really, as it was "older", but USED where 744 might have been).
There are much better modern grinds available in similar parametric ranges.
Thanks for the info, I didn't know they made the camshafts for Pontiac I thought Pontiac made their own. It took a while but I found the Melling code for the 744 [SPC-3] and then the specs for the SPC-3. I don't know if the 744 was replaced for performance or emission reasons but Pontiac did start to lower the compression in 70 and a lot more in 71. Perhaps they replaced the 744 with the 068 to have the intake valve close earlier and keep the cylinder pressure up? The 744 closed at 44 and the 68 closed at 39 if everything but the compression stayed the same the cam swap may have kept the cylinder pressure where they wanted it.
The reason I wanted to know is I'm doing a head swap. I now have #48 heads on my 68-428 [pings] and will be replacing them with aluminium heads either 74CC or 85CC. At zero deck and 40 over with a 40thou head gasket and flat tops the compression is about 11:1 I'd like to keep the compression as high as possible and control the cylinder pressure with the cam. I have access to a NOS 744 and wanted to find the correct specs to ascertain if it would be a viable choice for my needs.
Whatever grind I choose, if I have a choice between using a Pontiac cam or similar aftermarket one I'd rather use the stock cam.