'65 292 Upgrades

[My65's]

I am looking at massaging my 292 a bit, already has a rebuild on it to run unleaded but want to squeeze a little more juice out of it.
I am looking at the 6-8 264 cam, long tubes, and their 4-barrel intake....I am wondering if anyone has run the FiTech efi on the 292? Seems like an awesome setup, I have seen it on small blocks, big blocks, etc...but wondering if anyone has tried it on these stump pullers.
Any input on the setup on looking at and the potential Fitech efi would be much appreciated. Cheers!

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by My65's

I am looking at massaging my 292 a bit, already has a rebuild on it to run unleaded but want to squeeze a little more juice out of it.
I am looking at the 6-8 264 cam, long tubes, and their 4-barrel intake....I am wondering if anyone has run the FiTech efi on the 292? Seems like an awesome setup, I have seen it on small blocks, big blocks, etc...but wondering if anyone has tried it on these stump pullers.
Any input on the setup on looking at and the potential Fitech efi would be much appreciated. Cheers!

Hi there! Glad you have interest in having some fun with the 292! With stock valves and springs you are limited with how much cam lift you can go. .450 lift at the cam is the max for stock springs. Also without doing some head mods such as lump ports really any more than .450 lift would be a waste.

Due to the head design fuel injection has never worked all that well on these engines. A 4 barrel carb will give you the same and great results and for much cheaper.

Personally I would shy away from Clifford cams and go with a more common trusted brand like 12bolt.com cams or Comp cams. The clifford cam is a rather cheap cam and over priced.

For a build like yours that has stock pistons and a stock rebuild on the head I would grab a cam with .480 lift max and a total duration of 250 degrees.

That with a 4 barrel and headers would give you a substantial increase in power over the stock setup. Even if you just did a 4 barrel and headers you'd notice a difference.

This would be a nice mild cam, you would need springs though. It is specced for a 250, but you can special order it for a 292. My comp cam cost me $220 with cam and lifters when I got mine.
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/c...x?csid=59&sb=2

Reason I stay low on the duration is that the stock rods and pistons are really not great for more RPM than 4K. I revved my old 292 to 5K a few times.....but that was pushing the limits big time. I went with ross forged aluminum pistons on my new build so I could do 5500 easily if I wanted to.

[My65's]

Thanks TJ! Great info!
Would you go with long tubes? Or Shorties?
Are lump ports worth it with the setup you mentioned above? I have no issue pulling the head and installing those.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by My65's

Thanks TJ! Great info!
Would you go with long tubes? Or Shorties?
Are lump ports worth it with the setup you mentioned above? I have no issue pulling the head and installing those.

Either one works, I prefer short headers for ease of installation vs the long where you have to disassemble the clutch linkage and they also hang low to the ground.

Lump ports in general are a nice add on. With the stock valves you won't be able to take much advantage of the extra flow, but the engine will run smoother overall.

If you have the tooling and skills to cut the head bolt boss's out and install lumps then by all means! Even having a machinist do it is fairly cheap to as it doesn't require a whole lot of work.

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by My65's

I am looking at massaging my 292 a bit, already has a rebuild on it to run unleaded but want to squeeze a little more juice out of it.
I am looking at the 6-8 264 cam, long tubes, and their 4-barrel intake....I am wondering if anyone has run the FiTech efi on the 292? Seems like an awesome setup, I have seen it on small blocks, big blocks, etc...but wondering if anyone has tried it on these stump pullers.
Any input on the setup on looking at and the potential Fitech efi would be much appreciated. Cheers!

I don't know lots re: your 292; however, I am impressed with the FiTech efi system and their fuel command center--plus their turnkey kit for under $1400 for our v8's. Looks like you did your homework on EFI systems----congrats for your seeming conclusion.
Sam