Newborn / 71cuda / house /budget and...no power ?

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ValerianMagnum

ValerianMagnum

the little car that could
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
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Location
montreal , canada
Hi guys ! I decided to go with tge cheapest way for my cuda built , i bought a 440 for cheap that i will sell because i aquired a super nice 5.9 this week and want to dress it up like a 340 , stock 300hp 360 magnum pushed 320hp/420tq carburated and with the 380hp cam it pushed 410hp/440tq that is amazing on the street...so i have Milly that came into our world at the end of november....bought my 71 this summer ans still saving for our house*** so!!! Since my cuda was born 340 4 speed ill go small block and stick : i was thinking going with the 5.9 but with the 5.2 cam ;Stock valve lift for a 5.2 is .432 inch.
Stock valve lift for a 5.9 is .410 inch ... Since im in a realy tight budget didnt want to spend a fortune on a cam retainers springs etc...since the 318 cam is cheap , but i never drove a stock 5.9 cam .385/410 llift..looks to be dead after 4500rpm !! Man on a budget needs the best small block combination for a nice street cruiser with a big of power !
 
Congrats on the the newborn! They are a blessing. Congrats on the cuda too. They are my favorite cars ever. I had a 72 i ended up selling because I needed the money i have 3 little ones myself lol.
First off I like the 5.9 and making it appear to be the original 340. Can I ask....since you are on a tight budget why not just use the original 5.9 cam? Magnum cams are roller cams and are not cheap imo a 318 5.2 cam would be a downgrade to the original 5.9 cam. There is a website that has a ton of magnum swap info. ( I was considering a magnum swap myself) it has info on how to make a magnum appear like a la. It also has interchangeable parts and stuff like that. But if the 5.9 runs and doesn't have any issues I would just refresh it with new gaskets and maybe rings and run it. I understand what you are doing im on an extremely tight budget as well.
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Thx a lot !! I am assuming this, since the car will possibly be a 4 or 5 speed , everybody is saying that the 5.9 cam is done at 4500 ishh , i would love to leave it as is...i want a little bit of power but i want extreme reability , a 71 cuda with a 340 stock will not be as strong as a 71 cuda with a 5.9 in my opinion , love the legend of the 340 but with 8.9:1 compression , cheap gas and roller cam + torque what can you ask more !!! Im in canada and a 340 goes for 900 to 2 500 for one that needs a rebuilt , i dont have this kind of money right now and the cuda shell and parts cost me already 20k in cash , no loans, have to be carefull $$$$
 
I would just put the engine in as is, you can always change the cam later.
 
Just remember that its not a race its gonna take time and patience. Idk what kind of shape its in but you said shell so im assuming its striped down. Focus on all the safety stuff first. Brakes, steering, suspension, fuel transfer etc. Get the car to a roller then focus on the engine. The engine you have would be fine stock then in a couple years you could always pull it and rebuild it for more horsepower later on. Cars like ours are never done they are life long hobby. Dont get caught up in the it has to look like they do on tv. Or it has to run a certain et. Just make it safe and drivable. All the power in the world means nothing if it dont stop lol. I have a good friend of mine that built a 69 Camaro he put all his money in the body and engine. He ended up having well over 30k in it and it had stock drum brakes front and rear with stock suspension and steering. He built a 600hp+ 454 and on his third or forth test drive he wrapped it around a tree and totaled it. He didn't have insurance on it yet. It was a total loss. He did part it out and sold the engine and got a little of his money back but maybe a 3rd or less.
So the the point dont get all wrapped up in more power until everything else is done. Id love to see photos like i said i love barracudas
 
Thx for understanding...its hard when youre on a very tight budget , having a kid etc and saving money for the house that we want. And still had the chance to buy my dream car, Gotta love my wife !! I hope that i wont be disapointed with a stock cam 5.9 with a 4-5 speed with 3.55 or 3.91 gears

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I wouldn't bother with a 5.2 cam unless you have a good one on hand. The 5.2 cam is better than a 5.9 cam and I couldn't see how it's a downgrade. But its just not that much better to hunt one down and swap in. Been there, done that.

I had fun with my stock 5.9, 727, 3.55s in my dart. A manual trans would have just made it better!
 
But...since its chocking at 4500 rpm ? Will it be a dog if i have 3.91 gears ? The redline comes fast no ? I was expecting to shift at least at 5200 or 5500 rpm minimum
 
It'll be fine. Your expecting a high strung 340 for the price of a 360 magnum. It won't be a high revving setup. But its plenty of power to burn rubber. It'll run up to 5,500 fine and you might need to, to keep it from falling out of the power band after a shift. Just use an air gap intake, don't go overboard with the carb CFM, and a decent set of headers. I used a street demon 625 cfm and loved it. When I rebuilt my 5.9 with better heads and cam I upgraded to a 750 cfm street demon.
 
1994redram : since you did both , since i have a good 5.2 cam in hand will it be worth the swap and weird technical question , since the roller lifters dont need a breakin , can i use a used hydraulic roller cam with the roller lifters ?
 
If you have a good 5.2 cam and plan on pulling the timing cover, then you might as well swap the cam in. I've ran used cam and used roller lifters. Mixed and match them without any issues.
 
Wow thats amazing ahaha , and did it wakes the 5.9 a bit ? 432/432 vs 385/410 lift , both heads have the same springs even if the lift is not the same ?
 
I did a cam swap and a new timing chain at the same time. So, who knows what did what. But it was a nice bump in power.
 
I had once a 380hp crate engine , this 380 cam 513 lift /292 dur , was amazing ! But requires retainers , springs and the hot cam , gives almost 80-90 hp more but cost almost 900 to 1 000$ total , and not even a question off money they are very very hard to find nowadays.
 
Good to see your story here, I built my first Cuda on a budget after my first daughter was born, I remember what its like working with cars and a new baby. I'm sure you will be happy with the small block. Mine was a 340 and I cherish the memories I had with my daughter and cars back in the day!

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On the street, power at peak ain't all that, on account of you only go thru it once on the way to the speed limit, and usually the tires are spinning anyway. And if the cam sacrifices low-rpm torque to get the power up top, then it ain't always the best trade.
With 3.91s, and headers, I personally, wouldn't be in a hurry to swap cams. If your 5.9 is an EFI engine, they had an intake specifically designed to enhance the torque peak. And the EFI power curve reflects that. So when it goes "dead" at 4500, that may just be a return to normal. In any case, when you put a 4bbl intake on it, removing the beer-keg intake, that torque enhancing feature is gone. So then "dead" may not be as dead as you think,lol. Headers will wake it up some.
And bottom line is, with a close-ratio 5speed and clutch, it might be a non-issue anyway; it really depends on your gear ratios. On the street, TM is king, on account of wind-resistance, for the most part, is a non-issue.
Whatever you decide,.............. 360s and 5-speeds rule! Lol.
 
1994redram said:
I wouldn't bother with a 5.2 cam unless you have a good one on hand. The 5.2 cam is better than a 5.9 cam and I couldn't see how it's a downgrade. But its just not that much better to hunt one down and swap in. Been there, done that.

I had fun with my stock 5.9, 727, 3.55s in my dart. A manual trans would have just made it better!
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Magnum cams must be different from las. Because putting a 318 cam in a 360 is a downgrade lol I guess magnums are different.
On a tight budget id still stick with the factory cam for now at least for a while. I understand the budget thing more than most!
 
ValerianMagnum said:
Thx for understanding...its hard when youre on a very tight budget , having a kid etc and saving money for the house that we want. And still had the chance to buy my dream car, Gotta love my wife !! I hope that i wont be disapointed with a stock cam 5.9 with a 4-5 speed with 3.55 or 3.91 gears

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That is a beautiful car looks solid!! Good luck with your build and keep us posted Id love to see your progress.
 
dartfreak75 said:
Magnum cams must be different from las. Because putting a 318 cam in a 360 is a downgrade lol I guess magnums are different.
On a tight budget id still stick with the factory cam for now at least for a while. I understand the budget thing more than most!
Click to expand...

318 magnums came with a slightly bigger cam to bump the power up to keep with the 5.9 engines.

Also, OP you could have your stock cam reground for pretty reasonable money. I've never had one done but it seems to be pretty common.
 
Wow thanks for the support , the car is very solid its a south us car , now in montreal canada , cost me almost 20k , and i dont want to spend 80k on it either , so since i know a lot about cuda's ..i had a 360 magnum with a 276/501 custom grind cam with 3.23 and 4 speed in my 74 barracuda , since its all gone i want to reproduce this feel but with a 3.91 , extremely reliable 360 , t5 5-speed and little nic nacs , the will be carburated, im planning of putting shorty headers , was tires to it the street with them!!! Didnt think that the stock cam was that good !!
 
My job used to send me to Canada and It was always good to see a lot of Mopar up there, I've spent a lot of time in Cambridge Ontario. I always saw a Mopar or two while I was there. Good luck with your project!
 
My job used to send me to Canada and It was always good to see a lot of Mopar up there, I've spent a lot of time in Cambridge Ontario. I always saw a Mopar or two while I was there. Good luck with your project!
 
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