• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Ready to pick a cam

I’d spend the money to mill the domes and spin the crank before I spent it on the 2266 pistons and new rings(2295’s use 1/16”).
Also, with the 2266’s you’d end up at solidly under 9:1.

But I’m not the one making the decisions.
 
I’d spend the money to mill the domes and spin the crank before I spent it on the 2266 pistons and new rings(2295’s use 1/16”).
Also, with the 2266’s you’d end up at solidly under 9:1.

But I’m not the one making the decisions.
yes your right they do have 1/16 rings. are sure the dome is solid and not hollowed out ?. how thick of a head gasket to get it down to 9.1 ?
 
Last edited:
The shop I was working at in 1990 built a 440 for someone, and we milled the domes off the 2295’s that were used in it.
No problems with it at all.

Find 2 extra cc’s somewhere to add to the numbers above and you’re at 9.088cr(1027/113)
 
well worth it to cut the domes down then. you won't need a big camshaft which makes it a lot nicer to drive on the street. wonder if you even have to rebalance since your taking the same weight off each piston ?
 
well worth it to cut the domes down then. you won't need a big camshaft which makes it a lot nicer to drive on the street. wonder if you even have to rebalance since your taking the same weight off each piston ?
Yes, you do
 
I think the deck will be closer to 0.055” on an uncut block. Don’t know what the valve trough volume would be, but Milling the 2295 certainly gives infinite CR options if you’re willing to measure and do a little simple math.
 
back, with more info.

heads are not done yet. he didn't like the ones i had as a starting point, he's got someone bringing him another set.
stock head gaskets will put me around 10.5:1, but with thicker head gaskets i can get down to around 9.4:1 which seems much more manageable for what i'm trying to do.
 
back, with more info.

heads are not done yet. he didn't like the ones i had as a starting point, he's got someone bringing him another set.
stock head gaskets will put me around 10.5:1, but with thicker head gaskets i can get down to around 9.4:1 which seems much more manageable for what i'm trying to do.
10.5 with a .038 head gasket you would need to use a .085 head gasket to be at 9.4.. a factory stock .020 shim gasket you would over 11.1 compression.
 
I have milled the domes off of the 2295s and 7025s a few times. Not 1 problem. Kim
no wonder the 2295 pistons are so heavy adding all that material on top of the piston. put the worthless six pack rods with speed pro pistons mine were flat top still heavier than stock like I did 45 years ago not good for weight or performance.
 
Last edited:
Some things that don’t mix are leaving the compression high and not wanting to rev the engine much, and using a single plane intake. If you don’t want to rev the engine those domes need to be machined off, it needs a dual plane intake with a smaller cam to match.

If you leave the domes on, the cam needs to let it rev or you will be running a lot higher octane than 93. For pump gas I think you also need a bigger duration Exh profile on the cam with those domes. I”d rather do a mechanical cam, but a HFT you might consider a Bullet racing cams H15 239* @ .050” with .507” lift on the intake, H301/.34” with 249*@.050” 51” exhaust. 108 ICL, 112LSA. 87 octane probably would be better off with a (110ICL) 114 LSA, but it would run better if you could stay with the 112 LSA and just run it on 91. But you could start with 91 octane and blend the fuel down with 87 once the tune is correct. 87 octane is asking a lot out of that combo, unless the heads have some port work done.

We ran a 510 had single plane, headers ported 270cfm 452s, a symmetrical 248/258 112 LSA .5/.52 lift old Crane Mechanical SFT cam and 9.8 compression, it ran on 87 easy. We pulled it to have it rebalanced earlier last year, it always made a vibration since we built it 20 years ago. I took it apart and it looked like it was just put together, no evidence of issues anywhere. For a comparison, car right now it has a 11:1 OTB E street 440 with a trick flow 243/247, 108* LSA, 106ICL (-2*retarded) .64/.64 with 1.6 rockers and mechanical lifter (Howard’s) roller hybrid cam in it now, it has a little more power, maybe 30HP, but it also has to have 91 octane in it now. Both engines ran the same carb, same jetting, idle the same, and drive the same. Both combos were right around 15 mpg (440 is slightly better), with 4.10s and a 4400 dynamic converter and 30” tall tires, in a 69 Charger. Both are shifted at 6000 to 6500. Usually 6000. Wildly different combos with similar results except the iron headed engine will run on 87. You can build a 440 with domes ,iron heads and 10:1 compression for 87 octane, but everything needs to be matched up or it won’t work very well. It is going have decent rev capabilities or it won’t work at all.
 
Last edited:
i'm only going with the single plane intake because of the throttle body EFI, which (from what i've been told) seems to like single plane intakes. anything else and i'd be doing dual plane.

using thicker head gaskets does get me down to a manageable CR. i'm just not a hi revving guy on the street, and there isn't a dragstrip within 2 hours of me so any strip time would be minimal. its unlikely i'd ever rev it past 4500 for anything.
i just want a gnarly sounding cruiser. right now i'm kinda leaning towards a howards rattler cam, and hoping i can get away with mid grade if i have to.

CR.jpg
 
The thick head gaskets would probably work, then you could do a smaller cam. I think you still needs a bigger E/I cam split with domes, so a rattler probably isn’t a bad choice. Your engine builder might be cussing at you, nothing lines up very well on the top ends with the thick gaskets like that. We have .14” thick gaskets on one of our B engines, it was a PITA. Your better off milling off the domes.

You actually loose a ton of part throttle effeciency when you drop the compression a point like your talking. Then the cam gets roudier quickly too. The higher revving higher compression engine will get better fuel economy than the low revving lower compression combo with the smaller cam. Just shift early, you don’t have to rev it.
 
For a comparison. A smaller rattler cam
281*/289* @006”
227*/235*@ .050”
.480” ish lift
109* LSA
67* of overlap
Will pump 154-165 lbs of compression with the compression dropped to 9.3

The Bullet cam I mentioned has the same overlap, 67* if it is ground on 114LSA. It pumps 165-175 lbs of compression with 10.3 compression, but it also is capable of another 1000 rpms too. With the same 67* of overlap and more compression it will idle smoother than the Howard’s, make more power everywhere, run cooler, and with better fuel economy, and then you can just leave the pistons as they are. It would be easier to tune also. The extra 1000 rpms of top end power you don’t care about, but it won’t care either, short shift it.
 
The reason for 2266 is you can match the reciprocating weight easy enough. The 2295 already has a heavier pin in it. Cut the dome off will likely need a rebalance.

This seems like the lowest cost, and P/V shouldn’t be a problem
I am also onboard with the 2266 swap idea too if stick with simple is the goal. If you want to run on 87 octane and use off the shelf lopey cams your better of in the 8s for compression.

The newer 2295 have a narrower pin and are 30 grams lighter than the old 2295s. If it is an old 2295 I think they can just swap they are nearly the same weight. It is a late set of 2295s, the balancing is more of a problem.
 
Last edited:
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top