Cam and converter me?!

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vntned

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Working on a motor swap in my ‘77D100. I bought a 360 that was ran a few times in a circle track car. The motor was cheated a bit but is fairly mild. Specs are as is:

‘70 360 block 0.020” over
4027169 crank shaft
44109XXX connecting rods (can’t quite make out the whole number)
Speedo H405 pistons (I need to measure how far in the hole they are)
J-heads cut 0.050” with 2.02/1.60 valves
‘73 340 intake milled for the heads and center divider modified
*I need to math out what my actual SCR

This motor is gonna be going in my ‘77D100 2wd. The truck weighs 3700lb. A727 trans. 3.23 gear in an 8.75. And 28” tall tires in the back. The truck is not a daily driver but it gets driven all the time. It is NOT a race truck, but I do want some more power and fun over the current setup. The only things I’m looking to change on my setup is the cam and converter. I want to keep my 3.23 gears, and I am not gonna go crazy and change heads or pistons. I’m just trying to pick a cam and converter that will optimize what I’ve got already.

IMG_3742.jpeg
 
vntned said:
Working on a motor swap in my ‘77D100. I bought a 360 that was ran a few times in a circle track car. The motor was cheated a bit but is fairly mild. Specs are as is:

‘70 360 block 0.020” over
4027169 crank shaft
44109XXX connecting rods (can’t quite make out the whole number)
Speedo H405 pistons (I need to measure how far in the hole they are)
J-heads cut 0.050” with 2.02/1.60 valves
‘73 340 intake milled for the heads and center divider modified
*I need to math out what my actual SCR

This motor is gonna be going in my ‘77D100 2wd. The truck weighs 3700lb. A727 trans. 3.23 gear in an 8.75. And 28” tall tires in the back. The truck is not a daily driver but it gets driven all the time. It is NOT a race truck, but I do want some more power and fun over the current setup. The only things I’m looking to change on my setup is the cam and converter. I want to keep my 3.23 gears, and I am not gonna go crazy and change heads or pistons. I’m just trying to pick a cam and converter that will optimize what I’ve got already.

View attachment 1716396932
Click to expand...
Here's a good video to watch for basic low cr 360 hop up's.

 
Cam easy. Isky 280 mega cam. Will thump and make nice power. Or contact Racer Brown they have sweet grinds for mopars.
 
Forgot don't skimp on the timing chain. Get a quality true roller set. Edelbrock had a very good set. Cloyes race true roller are good Rollmaster is another brand.
 
I’ll wait for compression math before I make a suggestion, but wanted to say bad *** truck!
 
my shoot from the hip says howard's street force 1

heavy truck, 3.23's w/ 28" tall donuts and you're probably pressing close to 9.5:1 static with that set up.

converter is dependent on cam, but unless you want to spend $$$ on a trick unit something in the 25~2800 is probably where you'll want to be. maybe.

i wouldn't hesitate to call up Ken at oregon and talk to him, he may have a grind that fits the bill perfectly, or damn near.

resist the urge to go big on the cam and carb, the tire height and gears are going to keep your usable operational rpm way down due to road speed and the weight of the truck will be working directly against that.

also, that thing looks awesome. just the right amount of low and fat meats. rims are a sharp choice, too.
 
Thanks for the compliment! I’m real proud of the truck, I’ve been wheeling it more than a decade now. It’s been a good one.

Here in town there’s several of us with old ratty tin-grille Dodge trucks. We are aways trying to one up each other somehow or another. One of my friends is building up a warmed over 318 for his truck, so I started working on a 360, and now my buddy with his Lil’Red just gapped us all by installing a hot 408 from Blueprint with a TCI trans in his rig.

IMG_3722.jpeg


IMG_3643.jpeg
 
vntned said:
Thanks for the compliment! I’m real proud of the truck, I’ve been wheeling it more than a decade now. It’s been a good one.

Here in town there’s several of us with old ratty tin-grille Dodge trucks. We are aways trying to one up each other somehow or another. One of my friends is building up a warmed over 318 for his truck, so I started working on a 360, and now my buddy with his Lil’Red just gapped us all by installing a hot 408 from Blueprint with a TCI trans in his rig.

View attachment 1716396973

View attachment 1716396974
Click to expand...
Once again we need a heart button.
 
My 73 short wide with a magnum 360 has a comp 264R14 cam that’s 212/218@050 .480 lift on a 114 lsa. Mine weighs 3640 and has a 46re with an 2400 lock up and 3.55 gears. Don’t have a lot of time on the engine just yet but it seems to run hard early and it’ll destroy the right rear tire for as long as I hold the throttle open.
 
vntned said:
Working on a motor swap in my ‘77D100. I bought a 360 that was ran a few times in a circle track car. The motor was cheated a bit but is fairly mild. Specs are as is:

‘70 360 block 0.020” over
4027169 crank shaft
44109XXX connecting rods (can’t quite make out the whole number)
Speedo H405 pistons (I need to measure how far in the hole they are)
J-heads cut 0.050” with 2.02/1.60 valves
‘73 340 intake milled for the heads and center divider modified
*I need to math out what my actual SCR

This motor is gonna be going in my ‘77D100 2wd. The truck weighs 3700lb. A727 trans. 3.23 gear in an 8.75. And 28” tall tires in the back. The truck is not a daily driver but it gets driven all the time. It is NOT a race truck, but I do want some more power and fun over the current setup. The only things I’m looking to change on my setup is the cam and converter. I want to keep my 3.23 gears, and I am not gonna go crazy and change heads or pistons. I’m just trying to pick a cam and converter that will optimize what I’ve got already.

View attachment 1716396932
Click to expand...
If you don't mind having the truck down for a bit, take out your existing cam and lifters, send to Ken (Ken Heard <orcam@pacifier.com>) at Oregon Cam regrind and have him cut you a cam and spot face your lifters. I had him do this for me and got the 1176 grind for my 360. I don't know that I would go this aggressive with 3.23 gears, but he'll set you up with a good grind and recommend the correct converter for your combo.
 
I wish I still had my 76 D 100


3.23 with 28" has the same overall gearing effect as 2.96 with 26", aka not a lot.
I'd go 2500-3000 stall, 205-215 ish cam depending on what you exactly care about.
 
Oregon 1369 on a new core set on a 106 LSA with the intake lobe center set on 100. 218/227 @.050, 262/270 @.006, .462/.470 lift. This will work with your probable 8.5:1 compression, those SP 405 pistons are usually farther than .050 down hole unless the block has had a significant deck cut. Order a tight nine inch torque converter from the manufacturer of your choice.
 
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273 said:
I wish I still had my 76 D 100


3.23 with 28" has the same overall gearing effect as 2.96 with 26", aka not a lot.
I'd go 2500-3000 stall, 205-215 ish cam depending on what you exactly care about.
Click to expand...

run the maths out and that 3.23/28" with have you cookin' 77mph at 3,000rpm

fwiw, 2500 shows 65mph

for reference, look at the dyno video above: all of the modifications enhance power throughout the range but almost all of it is at 3K and above...
 
junkyardhero said:
run the maths out and that 3.23/28" with have you cookin' 77mph at 3,000rpm

fwiw, 2500 shows 65mph

for reference, look at the dyno video above: all of the modifications enhance power throughout the range but almost all of it is at 3K and above...
Click to expand...
Not exactly sure what your pointing out to me ?
 
junkyardhero said:
reinforcing that the gearing sucks as you noted
Click to expand...
100%, my 360 Valiant has 2.96 with 26" tires, to start to get in the powerband I have to get her up to 30-35 mph (3000-3500 rpm) in first gear then hammer it to start to feel it's real power. It still generally fun though but my car is a lot lighter than a truck.
 
An Oregon 1333 would probably be a better choice. Use a stock 360 core and lifters and get it ground (along with the lifters refaced) from 109 to a 107 LSA with the ICL on 103. 212/218@.050, 256/268@.006, .447/.455 lift. You still need to plan on a custom converter to make the combination effective.
 
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.040 deep by .0705 deep X 3.14 dish, so 8.9 CC dish volume, and 8.3cc down hole volume. Oregon 1333 ground to accompanying specs at the largest, but I'd call or email KEn and get his suggestion before going that route...
 
No, that was the standard 0.050” compressed head gasket. The 0.039” puts it about 9.25:1 and a thin 0.028” puts it just under 9.5:1.
 
I would go with the .039 performance gaskets, especially with the somewhat heavy mill on the heads. The little bit of extra security with the performance head gaskets is a good thing there, and honestly, head studs really wouldn't be a bad idea. 9-1/4:1 is reasonably good with your combination. I'm guesstimating that would put you around an 1/8 inch piston to head with the .050 cut J heads, so there should be plenty of detonation resistance. That would play very well with that first Oregon cam I mentioned (1369) on the 106 LSA and 100 degree ICL, even with the 3.23 gears and 28 inch tires. You could even even use it with a 10 inch 3500 rpm Hughes or FTI off the shelf converter, but a custom converter would still bring out the best in it.
 
Call/find a converter company that will build a 3500-3800 flash with a tight drive mode. A good converter will let you run a bit more cam than you think. It will blow by those low rpm level when you roll into it. The small cam in the video is fine too or something similar. Pick an approach.

Edge built one for a friend that was really nice in a 360 demon with a XS282S cam. It was pretty reasonable cost wise.

Awesome looking rig!
 
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