383 cam choice

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ike61

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Howdy all. I tore apart my 383 to replace seals and clean it up
Here are the specs:67 block standard bore, 516 heads ported with templates, stock pistons, rods, and crank, street dominator intake, edelbrock 600, cheap headers, 323 gears, car is 3800 with me in it. Best run is 14.40 at 96mph shifting at 5000. Current cam crane hmv-272-2-nc. Motor was re-ringed in 1993 and still runs great. Wondering if there is a better cam out there. Figured the motor is apart it would be a good time to change cams if i have better options. I want to keep everything the same. Leave it alone or buy a new better cam? Thanks
 
There's WAY MORE Folks Here w/ Massive Knowledge than me here to dial that question up. That being said, I put a .474 Street Hemi grind in for the 383 Coronet I had. 4 spd, ran 3.55s the most, although it came with 3.23s I also ran 4:56 gears on the streets of Tampa for a Lil while in that car. Got on 275 once, got off at the next exit. 906 heads (Ed Garlits did em) baffled pan w/ tray, hi vol oil pump, a Weiand High single plane, headers, holley 750 vac, fully grooved mains, Mopar electronic dist. I miss that ol Gal...
 
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Better....as in more HP.....better mileage....or

For just all round use, the cam you have is pretty good for a heavy car, 3.23 axle. New cam entails new lifters as well, so some $$$ involved.
 
I can't see you gaining a lot more performance in that heavy car with tall gears than the cam you currently run. Personally I think changing the intake would get you more than a cam change unless you upgraded to a roller.

Tom
 
you might want to change carbs from a 600 to something in the 750 range
 
To your initial questions, yes, you could get significant improvement from a cam change.

Your cam doesn't open the valves, has a widish LSA (110) and has far too little duration, especially on the intake. It is a Chevy/GM cam. There is no reason to run a split duration cam with stock heads on a Mopar. You can literally see the backside of the valve just inside the port. It won't hurt anything, just not needed.

You want a cam that has 220-230 degrees of duration at .050, over .500 lift and the tightest LSA you can find. 106 or less ideally.

The second glaring issue is those gears. 3.23's aren't going to cut it in any way shape or form. IF you don't have an OD, you'll need some happy medium, which will be a 3.73 or 3.90 depending on your gear ratio
 
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Here's a nice running 383. 400+ horse with headers, idles smooth with vacuum for power brakes. It's just a nice combination.
 
I can't see you gaining a lot more performance in that heavy car with tall gears than the cam you currently run. Personally I think changing the intake would get you more than a cam change unless you upgraded to a roller.

Tom
The street dominator isnt any good?
 
Better....as in more HP.....better mileage....or

For just all round use, the cam you have is pretty good for a heavy car, 3.23 axle. New cam entails new lifters as well, so some $$$ involved.
It seems i see posts where a certain camshaft is an old design or isnt ideal for a chrysler engine. I thought being the engine was rebuilt in the early 90s that could be the case. Just basically looking for more power without hurting driveability if possible
 
The street dominator isnt any good?
The street dominator is a very good intake for the 383, actually it was the best for a very long time.
It is right up there with the newer Edelbrock RPM.
I wouldn't switch to an rpm manifold over a street dominator for minimal gain.
The Hughes whiplash cam would work great for the sum of your parts.
 
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It was me I'd be looking at a cam very close to the 1970 HP 383 roadrunner camshaft. Keeping duration as close as possible while increasing the lift.
 
Won't see any gain switching to a roadrunner cam.
The hmv-272 and roadrunner cam are similar, the 272 may be hotter.
 
IKe,
My answers were based more on $$$ spent v what the butt-meter will feel afterwards. There are better cams & I agree with the comments in post #6. I guess the bottom line would be whether the money, time & effort would be worth it. If you do change cams, make sure you get your old lifters re-faced so that you avoid a failure with new lifters, made out of crap-anium.
 
Have you run it past 5000 rpm ? Still pulling?

Your intake is good I just wonder if it would be more responsive with a dual plane intake?

It may run faster with a little more carb.

A cam swap is such a gamble these days it seems. Maybe have the valve springs checked and replaced if needed?
 
Have you run it past 5000 rpm ? Still pulling?

Your intake is good I just wonder if it would be more responsive with a dual plane intake?

It may run faster with a little more carb.

A cam swap is such a gamble these days it seems. Maybe have the valve springs checked and replaced if needed?
I know it will rev past 5k, but i havent revved it up that high in years
 
I know it will rev past 5k, but i havent revved it up that high in years

Revving past 5,000 and pulling past 5,000 are two very different things. If that thing has any wind past 5,000 it isnt' much. My 602hp 440 makes peak hp at 5,900.
 
I'd say Hughes hel2226, it's just over .500 lift, they call it there 440 sixpack cam. It isn't big but it would probably be the best for what parts you already have. You have a low compression 383, well maybe low to mid 9s which you can work with, but if you go too much bigger you'll need more stuff to make it work best, that being said I ran the Mopar performance .474 with a very low compression 400 in a 73 charger se, I ran it for months with the 2.76 gears and stock converter .
It really really woke up when I put 3.90 gears and headers. That cam is around 237 at .050.
Good luck with your hunt.
But hunt for Hughes, their lobes are chrysler specific
 
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Revving past 5,000 and pulling past 5,000 are two very different things. If that thing has any wind past 5,000 it isnt' much. My 602hp 440 makes peak hp at 5,900.
Which cam are you running ?
 
The street dominator isnt any good?
It's a good intake on the right combination. However you have a 383 in a heavy car, with tall gears. That makes the engine acceleration rate slow. If you switched to a dual plane like a regular non RPM, plain jane Performer it would increase the air speed in the ports and give you more torque (which is what moves things, not horsepower) You could port matched a standard Performer to your heads for even better results. Air speed and the engine acceleration rate (how fast an engine can rpm per second) is what makes a real performance engine. Sometimes you have to work backwards to go forward and I really think switching to a dual plane intake will give you a better experience than changing the cam. Even if you put a roller in that engine I still think a regular Performer will yield better results in a heavy car with tall gears.

Tom
 
It's a good intake on the right combination. However you have a 383 in a heavy car, with tall gears. That makes the engine acceleration rate slow. If you switched to a dual plane like a regular non RPM, plain jane Performer it would increase the air speed in the ports and give you more torque (which is what moves things, not horsepower) You could port matched a standard Performer to your heads for even better results. Air speed and the engine acceleration rate (how fast an engine can rpm per second) is what makes a real performance engine. Sometimes you have to work backwards to go forward and I really think switching to a dual plane intake will give you a better experience than changing the cam. Even if you put a roller in that engine I still think a regular Performer will yield better results in a heavy car with tall gears.

Tom
I believe that for sure
 
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