273 Commando with roller camshaft
Has anyone built a 273 Commando or other mild 273 mill, with either a hydraulic or solid roller stick?
Is there any real benefit to a roller stick in such a small V8?
Hypothetical A Body 273 build to base this discussion on:
273 block bored 0.030" with a zero-deck flat-top piston (9.5:1 SCR)
Mopar 920 heads with bowl work & port match
Roller stick to be discussed??
Edelbrock Performer intake
Holley 600 vac sec or Edelbrock 600 carb
Doug's headers 1-5/8" primaries
4-speed
8-3/4 sure-grip 3.23 rear
I have posted my build before and sorry to bore anybody.
I bought a 62 Polara 500 off ebay sight unseen. It appears the owner, a Coors Exec in Spokane in the second gas crisis (1980?) yanked the OEM 361 4bbl/727 and installed a rebuilt warmed over 273/4sp. On Ebay that likely killed some of the car's desirability. I wanted the car, not the engine, since I expected to very quickly drop in a very warmed over 440. What I didn't expect was how peppy the combo turned out to be, made a great cruiser, so I bought another Polara 500 to hot rod.
So I did a few tweaks on the 273 car to help it out and I am very satisfied with the package. It has a mild Hyd Comp Cam when it arrived. I have a very slightly hotter Hyd Roller sitting on the shelf, but not sure it needs it.
The car's current tweaks included:
Fiberglass hood w/under scoop & trunk
MSD all in One Electronic Distributor
TTI Headers w/2.5 Duals
Passon Alum 4 Speed
Alum DS
Alum 8.75" w/3.55 SG
QA1 adj alum shocks
1.03 TB's
FG Leafs
SFC
600 Holley Street Avenger
Dp4? Intake
Valley shield
Windage screen
Wilwood Front Discs
Dual MC
Electric FP
Alum Rad
A lot of focus above was in reducing weight to help out the little motor.
And I also added a lot of non-performance oriented stuff, and have a short list of future upgrades, first being slightly upgraded front discs and add rear discs, alum FW, and LED headlights.
I would not suggest anybody seek out a 273 for a build for any reason, if you have a good motor, it's a fun cute motor, otherwise I suggest first a dime a dozen in the US 318 build, or 360 brute and lastly a 340 race motor for SB strokers(?), and they all look nearly the same.
It also puts me in a weird position because It doesn't feel right to ever sell mine, because it makes so little sense for anyone to buy, you might one day be in the same position.
Good Luck.
