Need to dial back my 440 to make it more street-able

[440bigblock]

Gentlemen,
Can anyone give me some advice on dialing back my car to make it more street-able.
Current set up 509 purple shaft in a 440, 4000 rpm stall 391 or higher gear. 850 holley
Sorry thats all the info i have. Car was purchased set up that way.
I want to go with a lower stall converter maybe 2800 and a 323 gear
Will this make the car more street-able or would i have to change the cam as well
Thanks in advance for your input

 

[Jerry Hall]

Gentlemen,
Can anyone give me some advice on dialing back my car to make it more street-able.
Current set up 509 purple shaft in a 440, 4000 rpm stall 391 or higher gear. 850 holley
Sorry thats all the info i have. Car was purchased set up that way.
I want to go with a lower stall converter maybe 2800 and a 323 gear
Will this make the car more street-able or would i have to change the cam as well
Thanks in advance for your input

The 509 cam is streetable. I see the convertor as the main problem. I'm using 2000-2400 stall converter. The gears, I like 323 or 355. The 391 gear is okay for in town and a quick blast from red light to red light, but not a highway gear by any means.

 

[biomedtechguy]

I have a old school Purple Stripe cam, hydraulic flat tappet, and because of where the power comes in, and tops out RPM wise, as well as the sound of the cam as evaluated by a number of seasoned Mopar fanatics, I am as sure as I can be it's the .509/292° cam...
I LOVE THIS CAM!!!
It came in the 440 6bbl in my 70 V-code Roadrunner. I changed the lifters and valve springs because the springs that were in it were weak/worn and the lifters definitely needed replacement. With the 3.54 gears the cam worked fine. With the swap from my 833 to my Passon 855 5 speed, I stepped up to a 4.10 gearset.
That cam still works great.
And the sound..Oh the sweet chorus of this cam!!

 

[biomedtechguy]

The 509 cam is streetable.The gears, I like 323 or 355.

THIS!! (In my case, I went to a 4.10 from a 3.54 when I swapped in a 5 speed OD)
If I decide to plan for a "season" of "power tours" and road trips where I want to drive my car the whole way I'll swap the 3.54 back in. I'm never going below that 3.54

 

[Jerry Hall]

 

[Jerry Hall]

THIS!! (In my case, I went to a 4.10 from a 3.54 when I swapped in a 5 speed OD)
If I decide to plan for a "season" of "power tours" and road trips where I want to drive my car the whole way I'll swap the 3.54 back in. I'm never going below that 3.54

Don't need to with a 5 speed.

 

[biomedtechguy]

@Jerry Hall
Have we met Jerry? If "yes" and I think we have, I'm sorry I don't remember better.
I will be at Gulfport Dragway from time to time and DEFINITELY at Cruisin the Coast the ENTIRE week!
Man Oh MAN! SWEET TUNES and what a beautiful bad *** ride!!
MAX WEDGE

 

[Jessejames]

Don't change the cam! Its totally streetable. Its my favorite of the old purple shift grinds. It usually does really well in a stick car. The converter sounds a little steep to me. Call PTC I believe there down south somewhere. Those guys will take care of you. They will need to know weight of the car, tire size, and rear gear. The 391 gear should be fine.. what size tire are you running?

 

[440bigblock]

@Jerry Hall
Have we met Jerry? If "yes" and I think we have, I'm sorry I don't remember better.
I will be at Gulfport Dragway from time to time and DEFINITELY at Cruisin the Coast the ENTIRE week!
Man Oh MAN! SWEET TUNES and what a beautiful bad *** ride!!
MAX WEDGE

The 509 cam is streetable. I see the convertor as the main problem. I'm using 2000-2400 stall converter. The gears, I like 323 or 355. The 391 gear is okay for in town and a quick blast from red light to red light, but not a highway gear by any means.

Sir
Sounds good I will make the adjustments so that I will be able to cruise more often and take longer trips. That 509 is a sweet sound!!!!
Thanks to all of you guys for your feedback and uploads

 

[440bigblock]

Don't change the cam! Its totally streetable. Its my favorite of the old purple shift grinds. It usually does really well in a stick car. The converter sounds a little steep to me. Call PTC I believe there down south somewhere. Those guys will take care of you. They will need to know weight of the car, tire size, and rear gear. The 391 gear should be fine.. what size tire are you running?

Running a 295 50 15 tire height is 26.6

 

[Jerry Hall]

@Jerry Hall
Have we met Jerry? If "yes" and I think we have, I'm sorry I don't remember better.
I will be at Gulfport Dragway from time to time and DEFINITELY at Cruisin the Coast the ENTIRE week!
Man Oh MAN! SWEET TUNES and what a beautiful bad *** ride!!
MAX WEDGE

Battleship a couple years ago. PT Cruiser, Superbird.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Battleship a couple years ago. PT Cruiser, Superbird. View attachment 954492

YES! Both great albeit very different cars.

 

[biomedtechguy]

The 391 gear should be fine.. what size tire are you running?

Running a 295 50 15 tire height is 26.6

I would call the 3.55 "tolerable" on the highway at 1:1 final drive, and my rear tires at appx 26" diameter ran 3,500 RPMs at 70ish.
Based on your question, I suggest the 3.55

 

[Darter6]

Did the same with my Hemi car.Took the cross ram off and went to single four barrel. Removed the manual shift valve body and installed the stock one with a shift kit. Removed the 4.10's and installed 3.23. Dialed the timing back a few degrees.
Edit,I forgot to state that I went from a 3500 converter to a 2500/2800.

 

[slepr1]

Can anyone give me some advice on dialing back my car to make it more street-able.

What are the issues? What does it do now that you want to change? Your problem could very well be something unrelated to the cam or stall. I had that cam and it was very street-worthy. You will run out of money before solving a problem if you don't know what to fix.

 

[JackpotJim]

I have a 4000 stall converter in my Coronet with a 4.10 rear gear and manual shift 727. It's perfect for what I do with the car on the street. That being said 4000 stall speed converter depending on the manufacture is pretty loose if you're planning Power Tours, Drag Week or putting some highway miles on it. I'd start by changing to a 2800+- converter and see if you like the drivability. As others have said your cam is a great street cam. I would not change.

 

[beanhead]

Well yes I like the .509 cam too, "in the right combination". It definitely sounds like this is set up more fer racin'....without knowing the compression ratio, I think just dropping the stall and gearing is going to make it even less fun..
None of the things you want to change are particularly "quick and easy", so if you're digging in that far I would seriously consider swapping cams too. You can do MUCH better, especially for a true 'street driver', than that cam. Sounds like it's probably better matched up with the combo as it sits. But, like the guys are saying, lots of folks run it in a driver and like it. Plenty of people hated it for driving around, too....
One thing I'd do, is jack up the rear, pop it in neutral and turn the driveshaft by hand. Count how many times it turns for one full turn of the tire, then you'll know for sure what the gearing is.

 

[440bigblock]

Did the same with my Hemi car.Took the cross ram off and went to single four barrel. Removed the manual shift valve body and installed the stock one with a shift kit. Removed the 4.10's and installed 3.23. Dialed the timing back a few degrees.
Edit,I forgot to state that I went from a 3500 converter to a 2500/2800.

My car seems to be set up the same way and i will make the changes to the car to so i can take longer trips. The set up now really runs well and is very quick no problems at all.
rpms are just way to high riding around 50 mph
thank you

 

[440bigblock]

Well yes I like the .509 cam too, "in the right combination". It definitely sounds like this is set up more fer racin'....without knowing the compression ratio, I think just dropping the stall and gearing is going to make it even less fun..
None of the things you want to change are particularly "quick and easy", so if you're digging in that far I would seriously consider swapping cams too. You can do MUCH better, especially for a true 'street driver', than that cam. Sounds like it's probably better matched up with the combo as it sits. But, like the guys are saying, lots of folks run it in a driver and like it. Plenty of people hated it for driving around, too....
One thing I'd do, is jack up the rear, pop it in neutral and turn the driveshaft by hand. Count how many times it turns for one full turn of the tire, then you'll know for sure what the gearing is.

Thanks good info

 

[440bigblock]

What are the issues? What does it do now that you want to change? Your problem could very well be something unrelated to the cam or stall. I had that cam and it was very street-worthy. You will run out of money before solving a problem if you don't know what to fix.

Car has no issues runs well! rpms are just way to high for me