Cam for Turbo Sant Six

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John Paul Y

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I buit a turbo slant six in a 1985 dodge d100. I originally used a comp hydraulic cam, after hundreds of miles the oil pump gear was destroyed by the comp cam.

I am now building a second one, this time a older solid lifter engine. Can I run the solid valve train in the older engine but use the newer hydraulic head? I am doing this because the newer head has valve work done to it. Also what would be a good cam choice? The comp was a .425 lift, 206 at 50 intake and exhaust, 110 lsa and seamed to work very well at 5-10psi.

howard sells a .473 lift, 220 @ 50, and 110 lsa angle. Would this work well turboed and for lead foot driving? Or would I be better off with the stock cam? Its in a 1985 long bed dodge, 727 auto, 3.21 8 1/4 rear. Id like to find a lower rear center section at some point aswell.
 
I cannot answer your question regarding the head swap but I can tell you this. Using a stone stock solid cam.....the highest lift they offered.....I forget what it is but it's over .400, IMO for a turbo street car, THAT would be an extremely GOOD match. Turbos LOVE mild cams and make GOBS of torque. This is one area where less sometimes is more.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I cannot answer your question regarding the head swap but I can tell you this. Using a stone stock solid cam.....the highest lift they offered.....I forget what it is but it's over .400, IMO for a turbo street car, THAT would be an extremely GOOD match. Turbos LOVE mild cams and make GOBS of torque. This is one area where less sometimes is more.
Click to expand...

I just found stock cam specs for my year to be .416 lift, 244 duration.
 
John Paul Y said:
I just found stock cam specs for my year to be .416 lift, 244 duration.
Click to expand...

But if that's the hydraulic version, I recommend the solid version. They made one over .400 in a solid too. Do you have one?
 
After you get everything installed, enjoy it as is . Then later, only thing you should have for the rear end is posi, cause you are going to need it. The gear ratio you have is good for loading the turbine section. Recommend purchasing an A body 8-3/4 posi 3:23 and swap out with the original rear.
 
Heads are interchangable. Corky Bells book "Maximum Boost" sugests a stock cam is usually your best bet unless you really know what you are doing.
 
Ive gone the other way before, a 63 head on an 82 block, dunno why a newer head wouldnt fit on an older block.
 
Yes you can run solid guts in a hydraulic head. They swap out however you like.
 
Depending on exactly what parts you use, might have to change the rear rocker shaft mounting bolt and/or enlarge the hole in the shaft.
PS: You must use a hydraulic shaft with the hydro rocker arms, and the solid shaft with the solid rocker arms. The oil holes are in a different location. also must use the rocker cover that goes with the head. Changed in 1982.
 
Yup I remember some of that. I ran the adjustable rockers and pushrods and left the hyd lifters, I do know that I wound up drilling the hole bigger in the back of whatever rocker shaft I used between the two. I had just wrecked the car that the donor head came from, and was POd because that engine had a whole 700 miles on it at that point, and on top of that I discovered a crack in the block between 2 freeze plugs on the fresh engine that the machine shop never found/said anything about. The crack was found only after assembly, install, and upon the 1st warmup and cam break in.

Dad had an 82 gran fury that the water pump had failed badly enough to make the fan meet the radiator and cracked the head. I had this engine in my Aspen, I had to swap cranks as that engine also provided my lesson about old style cranks and new style torque converters not mixing. Since I'd wrecked my car and the block was junk anyway, I got all the good out of it that I could by "donating" that head to Dad's car
 
I have a 74 engine in progress that is destined for my 85 d150 as we speak, I haven't bought a cam yet (I had planned to send the original one from this engine to Oregon cams for a regrind) as I am on the fence about possibly doing a low buck junkyard sourced home brew draw thru turbo with this one.
 
The head changed in 1980, along with the valve cover. 1980 was the last year for solid lifters. The change over to hydraulic started in 1981.
 
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