Another 383 Cam Consideration

[royslead]

I didn't want to hijack TristanCuda67's thread, so I'm posting my own. I'm doing a 383 for my Duster. It's a '68 block that has been decked only about .005" for cleanup purposes, so not really a high compression rig; and '452 heads. More of a daily driver , automatic, 3.55 rear gear ratio. The cam I selected is from Hughes:

I am wondering if anyone has some experience with this cam (or similar spec) in a single 4 BBL combination with a 383, and what has that experience been?
My current carb / intake is a 750 Holley and an Edelbrock Streetmaster. I will eventually be upgrading.

Thanks

 

[Bewy]

If you don't want a cam/lifter failure, have the OEM lifters re-faced.

 

[royslead]

Thanks, the original lifters are long gone, and this engine was pretty rough for having "been recently rebuilt." I ordered new ones, which I realize is a lottery in itself.

 

[496 polara]

Cam card/specs not working for me.

 

[royslead]

Cam card/specs not working for me.

I wondered about that, I have fixed it now, I think.

 

[RustyRatRod]

That'll probably pull your fillings out on the bottom end.

 

[OldmanRick]

I think you've made a excellent choice for a daily driver. It's refreshing to see someone pick a cam mild enough that fits their needs. It has pretty quick ramps and enough lift to really build low/mid range torque even without a lot of compression. A plus is that Hughes recommends a single spring so head mods won't be a issue. The 112 lsa will give a nice smooth curve into the 5200/5500 range and with the 3.55's should be great for most street use. Just to nitpic, and while some love them, i'm not a fan of the Streetmaster intake. Not that it's bad, i'd just prefer a dual plane for anything that mild.

Have fun with my favorite A body. I think you'll really enjoy the upgrade.

 

[royslead]

I think you've made a excellent choice for a daily driver. It's refreshing to see someone pick a cam mild enough that fits their needs. It has pretty quick ramps and enough lift to really build low/mid range torque even without a lot of compression. A plus is that Hughes recommends a single spring so head mods won't be a issue. The 112 lsa will give a nice smooth curve into the 5200/5500 range and with the 3.55's should be great for most street use. Just to nitpic, and while some love them, i'm not a fan of the Streetmaster intake. Not that it's bad, i'd just prefer a dual plane for anything that mild.

Have fun with my favorite A body. I think you'll really enjoy the upgrade.

Thanks, I'm not a real fan of the Streetmaster, either, but for now it is what I have. I've always preferred a dual plane for previous builds I've done. Of course, I've never built a full race, single purpose engine.

 

[middleagecrisis]

Is your 383 Duster really going to be a "daily driver"? I'm sure the cam your looking at will run great and have strong low/mid range torque, considering your intake duration at .050 is 216. If I was building a 4x4 truck motor, this would be the cam I'd use. I'm possibly going to going the 383 route in my Duster, if I can work a deal with the seller. Personally, I want whatever engine goes into my weekend Duster to have some lope at idle, you won't with 216 intake duration, but that's just me. Your 383 has plenty of static compression to run an intake duration of 220-228, even with a stock converter. It won't be a dog of a motor! My machinist once told me, don't under cam, you'll wish you gone the next step up. I'm not advocating a monster cam with no idle and low vacuum, I'm just saying you've got a big-block A-body, build it like one. Of course, this is all my .02 worth and 40 years worth of playing with hotrods. Everybody has their likes and dislikes.

 

[Bewy]

The 383 has a very high rod/stroke ratio. See the warning below about excessive duration & loss of tq in a 440. [ Applies also to 383 ] That is because the 440 also has a high rod/stroke ratio. The Chrys big blocks have the highest R/S ratio of all the big blocks. That means they do not tolerate a lot of duration because it reduces low end tq [ compared to an engine with a shorter R/S ratio, all else being equal ]. Also ideally the LSA should be tighter [ see the 128 rule on the web ]. I would use a Isky 264 Mega cam.

 

[Swingn’71]

Yep..!! Like the numbers on that cam..!! Driveability is the key here. Looks as though it’ll need a decent spring @ 500 lift. The numbers @ .50 look like the torque should be right in the area you use it the most. Good luck..Swingn’