Advice Appreciated

[bargeahead]

Gettin' close to spring and rebuild time.
65 Dart GT w/273 4bbl/904 from factory.

The machinist doing the rebuild has a good rep' and is a Mopar Man (69 RR).
The engine will be 30 over keeping the 10.5 comp'ratio and heads will have hardened seats. Has Eddy 600cfm on stock manifold. I have a new 2000 rpm stall convert' and want a slightly hotter cam.

I will make a few runs at the 1/8 mile track just to do it but will be mainly street cruising.

Has 14" rims and the dummy here ( me ) forgot to check the rear end ratio when it was on the rack ( probably stock ).

Any advice on cams and head work will be appreciated. THX

 

[octanejunkie]

Assuming you have a stock 2.76 rear ratio your performance will be limited, but it will do great on the highway! Suggest you keep rear gear ratio and trans type (manual, auto, od) AND driving style/use of vehicle in mind when designing your combo and choosing parts like head, cam etc.

You mention a machinist quoting you 10.5:1 compression, what chamber volume did he figure into that? What pistons is he suggesting using? Swapping heads might change your compression/performance point - especially if he is planning pop up pistons and open chamber heads, if you buy closed chamber heads you'll have a problem

Get with your machinist and work out a total plan that takes the big picture in mind before moving forward in any direction - that will help you choose your parts

 

[bargeahead]

Not planning on changing heads just reworking stock. Has 10.5 comp' ratio now and not sure what pistons he plans on using. The deepest I ever got into engines was head gaskets and thats been 38 years back. THX

 

[demon seed]

Not planning on changing heads just reworking stock. Has 10.5 comp' ratio now and not sure what pistons he plans on using. The deepest I ever got into engines was head gaskets and thats been 38 years back. THX

Sorry Roger but you'd have to add about 200 cubes to that 273 before I could help with the internals. You may want to consider sprucing it up with a desent intake and knowing the rear ratio really comes into play when figuring a cam out. If it turns out to be 10.5 comp then that's a good start.

 

[Max340]

Are you using the stock valve train, the mechanicals, or going with a hydraulic cam?

A 273 won't take much cam before it has a decent lope to it, and you probably don't want to lose too much cylinder pressure. A 340 Repro cam is likely the biggest you want to use, considering street use.

I'd also have a good chat with the machinist, and determine first if you are doing hydraulic or solid lifters, and then cam selection becomes far easier.

 

[bargeahead]

THX gents. Lifters are still up in the air on which way to go. At some point in the future ( hopefully near ) I want to put in 3.55 rear end gears. I guess I'm asking for a "build sheet" without getting into a fortune. Estimate from a few months ago was $2400-2500. 904 will get rebuilt at same time with shift kit ( Not manual ). THX again.