Road trips: They highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the car.

[Kern Dog]

I don't think you'll regret it.. I kinda like the sound of that cam..

You've heard Hawk's car?
Or did I misunderstand you.....did I read the above as you kinda like the sound of mine?
It would be great to feel a bit more relaxed about oiling issues. I don't rev much past 6000 rpms so a hydraulic roller and the limits of them are probably not an issue.
I talked with Dwayne Porter in 2022. He was sort of neutral about my possible jump to a roller. He thought I may not see a huge power increase over the Mopar 528 but did advise me to chat with other guys that went with a roller. Nobody seems to regret the move.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

You've heard Hawk's car?
Or did I misunderstand you.....did I read the above as you kinda like the sound of mine?
It would be great to feel a bit more relaxed about oiling issues. I don't rev much past 6000 rpms so a hydraulic roller and the limits of them are probably not an issue.
I talked with Dwayne Porter in 2022. He was sort of neutral about my possible jump to a roller. He thought I may not see a huge power increase over the Mopar 528 but did advise me to chat with other guys that went with a roller. Nobody seems to regret the move.

I have not heard Hawk's car... I do like the specs on his cam... And I do like how your sounds...

I did hear Hawks Yellow Roadrunner which has a small block.... It sounded great.... But it's a small block so it has no bearing on any of this...

 

[Kern Dog]

The milder specs of his cam....

My cam is a Comp Cams hydraulic roller camshaft, P/N 23-712-9
Lift: .544 intake and .541 exhaust
Duration @ .050": 236 intake and 242 exhaust
Lobe separation 110*

Yet being able to put down that much torque is amazing. I'd love a cam with more vacuum that would allow me to be able to ditch my vacuum pump.

I see power brakes too...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Absolutely nothing wrong with any of that

Good thing.. Cause years ago I swapped over a dozen cams into one car looking for the best combo....

 

[Kern Dog]

 

[1 Wild R/T]

The milder specs of his cam....


Yet being able to put down that much torque is amazing. I'd love a cam with more vacuum that would allow me to be able to ditch my vacuum pump.

Rollers open the valve much quicker so a smaller cam can make bigger power... But the valve springs take a beating & if they aren't strong enough to control the valvetrain the roller can "hop" over the nose of the lobe... If it does that it quickly destroys the lifter & the cam... So be careful about not trusting lighter springs....

 

[Kern Dog]

A dozen cams to find the right one?
THAT is a man on a mission.
I've thought of doing the cam swap by pulling the engine this way....

If I did it this way, all A/C stuff stays intact BUT I have to deal with shifter, speedo and reverse wiring, drive shaft, torsion bars, steering column, fuel system, etc.
By leaving the engine in the car, I'm just pulling the radiator and condenser and recharging the system afterwards.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I'd do it in the car but you know A/C doesn't bother me much.... When I was swapped cams it was on the red car & it didn't have A/C at the time... I could do a swap in about 3 hours...

 

[Kern Dog]

I have much to learn. It would surely take me much longer!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I have much to learn. It would surely take me much longer!

That was thirty plus years ago... I was turning wrenches everyday, guys would joke with me about needing a bucket of water to cool my tools.... These days I could easily stretch that job into a couple days or more especially if it doesn't cooperate....

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I have much to learn. It would surely take me much longer!

You wouldn't want to watch me doing a home project....

 

[HawkRod]

The milder specs of his cam....


Yet being able to put down that much torque is amazing. I'd love a cam with more vacuum that would allow me to be able to ditch my vacuum pump.

I see power brakes too...

View attachment 1655343

Yes, and power steering, A/C, and lots of creature comforts. Be comfortable but carry a big stick!!!

I've thought of doing the cam swap by pulling the engine this way....

View attachment 1655346

I have vowed never to pull another Mopar engine from the top again. Dropping it out the bottom is so much more controlled.
Doing a cam swap with A/C seems like it would be a major pain in the arse. When I did my changes to my 70 Road Runner, I dropped it out the bottom and kept the A/C system intact. It worked well for me. But leave the brake calipers hanging from the body and you won't have to bleed brakes. Also, disconnecting the upper control arm doesn't mess with your alignment.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Good thing.. Cause years ago I swapped over a dozen cams into one car looking for the best combo....

I think it’s called hot rodding

 

[RemCharger]

You've heard Hawk's car?
Or did I misunderstand you.....did I read the above as you kinda like the sound of mine?
It would be great to feel a bit more relaxed about oiling issues. I don't rev much past 6000 rpms so a hydraulic roller and the limits of them are probably not an issue.
I talked with Dwayne Porter in 2022. He was sort of neutral about my possible jump to a roller. He thought I may not see a huge power increase over the Mopar 528 but did advise me to chat with other guys that went with a roller. Nobody seems to regret the move.

Of course, Dwayne is right. You don't know what you have, and are basing against a calculated dyno corrected number from Hawkrod.
#s at the track matter, the rest is cars and coffee.

 

[Kern Dog]

Considering the fact that I have almost zero interest in drag racing, the dyno is the next best thing to determining power levels.
I was a decent driver with the automatic. I'm not as quick with the manual trans but I like driving it more with the stick. Rear Wheel HP numbers do help guide decisions.
The specs for the Comp roller are a lot milder than my Lunati....

Look at difference in the duration @ .050!
I'm running 1.6 rocker arms so maybe I'd be wise to swap in a 1.5 set.

The MP '528 solid had the following specs:

	​	​

Andy F posted this 20 years ago:

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

When I spoke with Dwayne Porter 6 years ago about possibly changing my Lunati Voodoo 60302 cam, I provided him all of the details of my motor and car. He told me he wouldn't change a thing. I was very surprised by his response and asked him why. He said it was mostly due to my pistons. I'm running flat top Pistons with a .015" valve relief. By the end of the conversation, it was apparent that he said I should have selected my cam first and then sourced pistons to match, which should also target a bit lower compression (I'm at 10.1:1 and have struggled with timing and detonation in the past and really wish I was at 9.6:1). Instead, what I had done is bought those pistons because I thought Oh they're flat top JE's and they had one set left in stock so I grabbed them. Then I bought the cam later. He explained if I wanted to make more power that was street able he would have chosen the pistons last.

 

[INTMD8]

The milder specs of his cam....


Yet being able to put down that much torque is amazing.

I think the torque is good regardless but IMO driveline loss on a manual trans car is closer to 9-10% than 15+%

Also, I would be nervous about running my car nose down on a chassis dyno. Not ideal for oil pickup and windage.

 

[Kern Dog]

This Tremec TKO doesn't like to shift at speeds of 6000 rpm and above. Because of this, a cam that peaks much higher than that seems pointless.

Here are the specs of my cam from Lunati:

The engine isn't a slug below 2000 rpms but it was more responsive with the smaller '528 cam, that is for sure. Look at that RPM range they list....4200-7200? What ?? 11+ compression? I'm at 9.8. 4.56 gears? I have 3.55s. Medium weight car? I'm at 4000 lbs.
Now, this is based on a 383-440size so a bigger engine will have a lower peak range but still, even if that is 800 rpms lower, that is still 3400-6400 rpms. I didn't pick this cam, it was suggested to me in 2013 by a guy at FABO when I was dealing with detonation. He thought (like many do) that a bigger cam with a later intake closing point would cut down on the risk of detonation. It has a 106 centerline but I'm 4 degrees advanced.
The car runs strong but I do wonder if I've sold myself short on performance over the years by choosing the wrong cam for the application.

 

[Dennis H]

Mine stops pulling at 4850. 6k is a good way to bend a rod or some such. Low end Torque rules.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Mine stops pulling somewhere under 5500 and is a stump puller down low. Best 1/4 mile time of 12.80 at 108 mph and with practice can likely go faster. Greg, my little cam with .475 lift provides 523 ft-lb of torque. It doesn't sound as bitchin' as some of the bigger cams, but I'll take low RPM torque over that any time. That said, if I changed my pistons it would allow me to select an even more ideal cam and I've probably got more on the table. Your car also felt very strong when I drove it - the manual trans helps a lot. You could also have more available, but your car is definitely no slouch as it sits. I say go for it with a different cam if it's carefully selected to match with your other parts and can bring the torque in earlier.