What cam to use ??

[Ch4RG3R_70]

Hey guys needing some advice for a cam. Me and my son purchased our 1st 440, it came from a 1977 new yorker. There's only a few things we want to change on it so far such as heads were going withh 440 source aluminum heads, hedmans long tubes, and were undecided on intake and carb. With that being all that will be changed what would be a good cam to use? It will be for street use. Thanks guys for the help.

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

Need more info, car, gear, torque convertor

 

[Mick56]

I think nowadays, the best bet is to call the cam manufacturer. They'll need all the pertinent info, tranny, vehicle weight, rear end ratio, any other engine mods.

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

Need more info, car, gear, torque convertor

Car is a 1970 dodge charger, 323 gears, and stock torque converter. Thx.

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

Be very easy to over cam that combo. You’re gonna want to keep the duration short (probably 220’s @ .050 with low 230’s max), LSA wide (110-114), and lift under .500 for stock rockers. I think a mr six pack cam might fit the bill for that combo.

PRHeads comments in this board. He could spec you out something you’ll be happy with as he’s direct with comp.

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

Be very easy to over cam that combo. You’re gonna want to keep the duration short (probably 220’s @ .050 with low 230’s max), LSA wide (110-114), and lift under .500 for stock rockers. I think a mr six pack cam might fit the bill for that combo.

PRHeads comments in this board. He could spec you out something you’ll be happy with as he’s direct with comp.

would it actually be worth changing the cam and probably not much difference in gains?

 

[66Satellite47]

I agree with Hemi GTS, 500 or so lift, [email protected], wide LSA(112-114) for short overlap due to low CR even w/440 Source heads. A good 10" torque converter will make at least as much performance gain as a cam change. I'd do both (easy for me to spend your money, LOL). I'd also have the stock 440 Source heads checked by a race oriented machine shop for guide clearance & valve job quality(I suggest on ALL aftermarket heads).

 

[BSB67]

If you have not purchased heads yet, consider the 75 cc E-Street. If the converter is stock and the gear is tall, I think the 224° intake duration is good choice. Maybe 110° LSA in at 106° to keep cylinder pressure up.

A lot of cams could work for you so you should consult with a professional.

 

[wyrmrider]

Be very easy to over cam that combo. You’re gonna want to keep the duration short (probably 220’s @ .050 with low 230’s max), LSA wide (110-114), and lift under .500 for stock rockers.
ok
comp has nothing for you under 275 degrees
Low compression motor
so close the intake early which negates a wide lca
short duration with as much lift as you can
short voodoo
howards with a 15 in the notes column in the catalog
something custom from rcer brown or bullett or engle or crower (PM Dart19666)
Jones has a cam designed for this combination
has more area under the curve than the howards or voodoo or 260 MP cam
but shorter set duration
you get what you pay for
headers make a difference in ex and lca

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

Been wondering if it would be worth it. Hate that the motor has 190 hp and was trying to get those numbers up as good as we could. Not sure how much of a hp gain we would get from heads, headers, intake, and carb change alone.

 

[69a100]

As Steve Dulcich has always said. When upgrading a cam, go NO more then 10% over stock duration and keep it under .050" added from stock lift, and you'll build 1 sweet *** street engines. Good Luck

 

[wyrmrider]

The stock intake and carb is hard to beat except for weight (you could almost pay for some pistons)
actually you can't beat a tq for what you want to do
headers may make the biggest difference if you open up the whole exhaust
long tubes and not big dia collector
since you are not going to get any quench with your pistons way down the hole you will pick up some top end with the heads but might actually hurt low end grunt
the compression increase will help though
use the 028 mr gasket headgaskets so as not to make a bad problem worse
what 69 said
but
do you have the street cam or the magnum cam now
also many late big blocks had the smaller dia converter due to the poor low end on the late smog motors
In this case stock durations are really long for either cam for the lift/ area you get
all about quiet valvetrin and warranty and then mog
lobes close really gently and are really long
that combined with the wide lca's really closes the intake late killing dynamic compression
so you actually need a shorter seat to seat cam with faster ramps- like the ones I mentioned above
In this case the factory cams are so lazy that you can get shorter and bigger at the same time.

We did testing two different times for Chrysler and found that any increase in duration hurt 60 foot times but would pick up in the 8th
any more would start to take converter and gear changes to get back to even on the 60 foot times
The Magnum cam intake is close to 290 crane degrees stock - maybe like a comp 285h ish but much less area than the XE285xl for example only- do not even think about it for a street build like yours
some vendors squeeze the lobe centers together to mask a big intake lobe (to get the close earlier) but then the overlap goes up and vacuum goes away as does idle, driveability, mileage etc
the exact specs are in the fabo 318 cam stickie and I have posted them here before- do a search

 

[Curiousyellow71]

It kind of sounds your planning on dropping heads, cam and headers on a low compression stock engine? If so, how good is your short block...has it been freshened up in the past? Have you done a compression check on what you have? Is it a low mileage engine or are you going to freshen it up? The heads are going to be a big improvement. But forget about reusing your cam if you buy nice heads. Aftermarket heads are going to like a lot more lift then the stock heads and respond accordingly. If your engine is sound I think you can get it to run very well...How much do you know about what you have?

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

I believe motor to have around 55k miles, no leaks from what i could see, and was running and driving. Ive got the motor and transmission. Im glad I started asking questions before we started buying things lol. What we would like to be at is around 400 hp is what were hoping for, will be all street no drag strip at all just want the extra hp ._.. Say from red light to red light and that be seldom just want the power to be there if we want it. I guess were looking for more power at bottom end then on top end.

 

[forphorty]

On the latest Enginemasters episode , Steve Dulcich took a 7.5 comp (pistons .156 in the hole) motorhome engine, stuck in a Comp Thumper and put on an Ed Perf RPM and 850dp. Headers. Had an electric water pump too. Made 476 ft/lbs at 3500 , 381 hp at 4900. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-21-600-5/overview/make/chrysler. I'm not advocating this cam, just giving an example of its performance in a low comp 440.

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

On the latest Enginemasters episode , Steve Dulcich took a 7.5 comp (pistons .156 in the hole) motorhome engine, stuck in a Comp Thumper and put on an Ed Perf RPM and 850dp. Headers. Had an electric water pump too. Made 476 ft/lbs at 3500 , 381 hp at 4900. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-21-600-5/overview/make/chrysler. I'm not advocating this cam, just giving an example of its performance in a low comp 440.

That one seemed pretty good but would it be compatible with just any aluminum heads or just a certain one, also read bout maybe not good with power breaks not for sure why... But cam does sound good.

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

Also been checking out comp cams xtreme energy 212/218.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

To answer your vacuum question..a cam with a narrow Lsa has more overlap and less vacuum then a wide Lsa cam with the same duration. A cam with a 107 lsa with 228/ 241 @.050 on a low compression engine is not going to run vacuum brakes. But you could install a vacuum pump $.

If you shop for a "off the shelf" comp cams most are ground for a chevy .842 diameter lifter. The extreme energy cams work good with low compression but if your buying a cam get one designed for a mopar not a chevy. IMO...that kind of rules out comp cams. I would prefer a voodoo to a comp xe. Several have mentioned get a cam that doesn't have tons of .006 duration(good plan)...but has more area under the curve because it opens/closes the valves quickly.
Most cam companies have a cam designed for a mopars larger .904 lifter. The larger diameter allows us to run steeper ramps more area under the curve=more hp.

The e streets 75cc heads makes more sense to me then the 440 source heads. If you use a .028 gasket the 440 source 8:1, e street 8.65.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Street Hemi grind, appx 284° .480" lift.
I know that isn't much, but I'm referring to the old Direct Connection "street hemi" grind cam.
I have the biggest Purple Stripe hydraulic flat tappet cam they used to sell, the 292° .509 cam, and it runs and sounds awesome in my 440 6bbl. Too much cam for you, but the 284/.480 I'm referring to was in that same "group" and served thousands of Mopar nation members very well.
I defer to the more knowledgeable, but that's my .02

 

[Ch4RG3R_70]

To answer your vacuum question..a cam with a narrow Lsa has more overlap and less vacuum then a wide Lsa cam with the same duration. A cam with a 107 lsa with 228/ 241 @.050 on a low compression engine is not going to run vacuum brakes. But you could install a vacuum pump $.

If you shop for a "off the shelf" comp cams most are ground for a chevy .842 diameter lifter. The extreme energy cams work good with low compression but if your buying a cam get one designed for a mopar not a chevy. IMO...that kind of rules out comp cams. I would prefer a voodoo to a comp xe. Several have mentioned get a cam that doesn't have tons of .006 duration(good plan)...but has more area under the curve because it opens/closes the valves quickly.
Most cam companies have a cam designed for a mopars larger .904 lifter. The larger diameter allows us to run steeper ramps more area under the curve=more hp.

The e streets 75cc heads makes more sense to me then the 440 source heads. If you use a .028 gasket the 440 source 8:1, e street 8.65.

Pm sent