I'm picking up my rebuilt stock 350 (1971 block & heads) this weekend. Since I'll have the engine out and on a stand, it would be a good time to install a cam & lifter set and a FelPro one piece pan gasket. I'm looking for some "cam idle", but still want some low end torque to get my 4th gen moving. I was thinking about Edelbrock's performer-plus cam (or the cheaper Summit equivalent). I'll be reinstalling my new Weiand Action Plus manifold and Edelbrock 600 cfm Performer carb. Also, I just installed my Hedman Elite hedders several weeks ago. Do I need new exhaust gaskets? I need to get this stuff on order soom, so any help/advice would be appreciated.

The cam is the "brains" of the engine so take your time in selecting it. The "cam idle" you're looking for comes as a result of more overlap, which also hurts low rpm torque, but if you chose right you can have it both ways. A couple cams that come to mind are the GM 151 L79 cam and CompCams 268H. Another is the factory L82 cam. All of these are bigger than the Performer cam but still have good bottom end characteristics. There are also some similar (and also excellent) cams from others like Crane, Isky, Lunati, etc.. If your old header gaskets look good you might be able to reuse them but I wouldn't chance it to save a few bucks.

I am pleased with my performer cam, but I am using 1.6 rockers which gives it more lift.

I have always called the cam company, Comp or Crane. They have always been very helpful and after I explained what I wanted and what I had, they were able to give me the cam #. The call is toll free.