Todd Hoven

When I first started racing the Firebird, I changed the rear gear in it. The first time I ran it at the Etown national event it started popping and banging at around 6700. Around 100 ft before the finish line. After the race I checked the valve springs. Found them to be at 200 and 380 open. Bingo! I thought. Changed the springs and retainers. Had 450 open. The next race I almost able to get to the traps ! I figured what is wrong now. When I got home I was going swap a fresh engine anyway.
When I took that engine apart to get the cam and lifters and other assorted parts, I found 3 loose pucks on the bottom of the lifters. The camshaft was a Bullet. I checked the numbers on the cam for the lobes. When I looked up the lobe profiles, the were dwell torque lobes . When I asked John Partrige about this, he told me those lobes were never meant to run over 6500. He told me that I need a asymmetrical rpm style lobe. So I ordered one from him. The cam he sent me went to 7400 with no problem, and I never broke any valvetrain after that. You are on the right track, sounds like you need a profile change.