street cam for 360 magnum

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mtolley

mtolley

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ive been doing alot of reading on others builds etc, and have decided that while im replacing some gaskets etc on my 85 pickup, i might slip a new cam in. the truck is no slouch as is, but want a little more. currently motor is a completely stock 360magnum m1 single plane,750 dp, and headers. truck has 3.55 8/14 and a 727 trans. it does have a turbo action rmvb and good converter which is probably why it consistently runs low 13's n/a and low 12's with a 100 shot. dont want nothing wild,but something that would better suit the parts i have now.. any ideas? mike t
 
The first idea that comes to mind is a slightly larger cam at best. Going up to much will through the balance off and require a new converter and/or a gear change if you went to far. Keep the lift low, close to stock. This avoids extra work to the heads.
 
the cheap up grade for a 5.9 magnum is to use a 5.2 magnum cam as they are a little bit better (not much but every little bit helps, if you can get one for free right?)
 
StrokerScamp said:
This would be a nice one. Unless you are going roller....
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That was my question in this. He said Magnum engine, but, that really doesn't mean jack now does it?

What cam is in there? OK, he said stock. IDK the spec's. Regardless....
 
caferacerx said:
the cheap up grade for a 5.9 magnum is to use a 5.2 magnum cam as they are a little bit better (not much but every little bit helps, if you can get one for free right?)
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IIRC the 1992 5.2 cam was the hottest cam mopar put in the trucks. Then they downsized it a little for more torque. Is this correct. I hope I havent been keeping these 1992 cams for nothing.
 
Dragonbat13 said:
IIRC the 1992 5.2 cam was the hottest cam mopar put in the trucks. Then they downsized it a little for more torque. Is this correct. I hope I havent been keeping these 1992 cams for nothing.
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they are good cores to send out and have reground!
 
i dont know what the factory cam specs are. i talked with the previous owner today and he said the converter is a 10" turbo action 3200 stall. he feels a cam swap would really wake it up(hes a long time drag racer w/many wins)and i trust his judgement. but hes not willing to give up any specs on what would be good(just the way he is, lol!) which would be better, hydraulic roller or hydraulic flat? if i choose the flat tappet is there an off the shelf pushrod that i can use? years ago when i owned a 68 340 barracuda i rebuilt the engine in highschool shop class, and put a comp 280 magnum cam in it and it worked great! or would i be better off with a roller. thanks for the replys to the new guy! mike t
 
Hughes has a good selection of magnum roller cams (including their whiplash cams) You could reuse your lifters pushrods and rockers, but would need to replace your springs and retainers.

I installed one of their smallest cams in my 5.2 last year with an airgap intake. Runs well for a 4500 lb vehicle.
 
mtolley said:
ive been doing alot of reading on others builds etc, and have decided that while im replacing some gaskets etc on my 85 pickup, i might slip a new cam in. the truck is no slouch as is, but want a little more. currently motor is a completely stock 360magnum m1 single plane,750 dp, and headers. truck has 3.55 8/14 and a 727 trans. it does have a turbo action rmvb and good converter which is probably why it consistently runs low 13's n/a and low 12's with a 100 shot. dont want nothing wild,but something that would better suit the parts i have now.. any ideas? mike t
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It's easy to better the stock camshaft,send the stock cam to Tim @ Bullet cams for a regrind. There are lot's of flat tappets that would crush the hyd roller if you want to go that direction. Tim @ Bullet can give you good advice if you give him all the details. This stock bottom end 360 magnum runs low 12's and high 10's @123mph with a small shot and will soon pick up with a new Bullet camshaft. Hope to see 11.80's and 10.40's with a regrind.
 

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cost on this swap is why i ask about hydraulic flat tappet cams, trying to keep the cost down. knowing the springs will need to be replaced as well as other parts, it pushes rollers way on up there. just figured while the intake and front cover were off id put something in there besides a broom handle. if i remeber right cam specs on the flattys are based on 1.5 rocker ratio and magnums are 1.6. so anything i choose will have more lift than advertised. how much lift can a stock long block handle before things get too close? what springs to use with magnum heads and flattys? what pushrod lenght? it will need enough vacumm for power brakes all help is really appreciated! mike t
 
Here is what I would do. First of all you may as well get ready to change the springs. If you dont you are going to end up with unmatched parts, have the engine winding at something like 4500, break a spring, dump a lifter, ect. All the time you would have wished you would have changed the springs. I understand about the reason for doing a cam swap, but I dont think you understand how easy it really is to change springs. If you take your time it will be no big deal. It may be alot of Time. But not hard work.

Here is what I would do. Call Hughes and tell them what you are wanting to do. They may have a cam that will work with stock springs. If they dont then ask If they have a cam and spring combo that will work without having to do any more than just change the springs out. They probably have that.

Another thing, If you change the cam out with anything with more lift, Your at least gonna have to check for valve piston clearence. I would.

In all honesty there really is no such thing as just swapping a cam without going through the whole valve train and checking things if you want to do it right.

I am not trying to be ugly or kill your idea but I would hate to see somebody who seems to like their truck change it up just to have it either not go any faster, or go faster then blow up.

BTW, And I may be very wrong on this one, But dont you have to pull the intake to get the lifters out in order to remove and replace the lifters so the cam will go in and out? If thats the case by the time you Pull the intake, you may as well pull the headers and the heads to look inside and check everything, and then it is no big deal at all to replace the springs.
 
mtolley said:
cost on this swap is why i ask about hydraulic flat tappet cams, trying to keep the cost down. knowing the springs will need to be replaced as well as other parts, it pushes rollers way on up there. just figured while the intake and front cover were off id put something in there besides a broom handle. if i remeber right cam specs on the flattys are based on 1.5 rocker ratio and magnums are 1.6. so anything i choose will have more lift than advertised. how much lift can a stock long block handle before things get too close? what springs to use with magnum heads and flattys? what pushrod lenght? it will need enough vacumm for power brakes all help is really appreciated! mike t
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About .520 lift, mine had about .020 clearance between the bottom of the retainer and the top of a valve guide on a .512 lift cam which I degreed to verify the lift. For about 140 bucks you can get the single set of springs from Hughes good for .550 lift and their retainers and locks which. will solve the clearance problem. Several other members have experienced the same thing. I used on of those $20 valve spring tools and did it right on the heads in the car. Good luck, the magnum is a fine engine ,If you decide on roller rockers use a chevy stud with chevy 1.6 roller rockers. best results have been not from the stock guide plates but ones from older oldsmobile v8's. The stock ones allow too much side to side travel with a chev rocker. I have heard of several instances where the comp cams kit to swap to flat tappet has been problematic with issues with preload on the lifters which were subesequently were noisy. There apparently IS a differentce between the AMC lifter which now lists right alongside mopar hyd lifters with the same part number, I do not know what the difference is but apparently their use is best over the Mopar lifter. If you are sure on a flat tappet you will also be prepping the oil holes in the block unless you have the early magnum block which has BOTH oiling for roller or flat tappet. There are no cheap brand new magnum cams out there, regrinds or grinds off of factory core yes. Youre cheapest bet is a 150 dollar regrind and Hughes springs retainers about totalling about $300
 
I think the cost of a roller to a Hyd. cam swap is not only a step backwards but a money wash even with new springs. The cam regrind (Roller cam) can be tailored (SP?) for use with stock springs. Since springs are mostly a lift item (YES! Control of the valve etc.....)

For the cost of new springs.... $100 - %150? in which would be the case w/the Hyd. cam anyway. Right? New springs on a new cam????? For best control of the valves and performance??????

IDK, going cheap isn't the best idea on somethings.
 
before i ask anymolre questions,let me give a little background on myself. im not "new" to cars,engines or anything mechanical.i am an ase certified tech for over 20 years and have owned and operated my own shop for the last 10 years. my first car was a 68 formula s 340 auto that i rebuilt in highschool shop class as indicated in one of my previous posts in this thread. i drove and raced this car through college. got married jumped on the 5.0l mustang bandwagon and parked the cuda. the cuda was stolen a year or so later and was never found.
i owned at least 10 different small block ford cars ranging from stock 14 second mustangs to high 9 second strokers that were all STREETABLE that I BUILT.
now back to the mopars. i know that rollers are a great high performance choice, but not the only choice. the cost of buying a roller cam and the appropriate hardware to match it is far greater than the same in a flat tappt cam. a regrind on a roller may bring the two to a closer match. to be sure im not the first person who has pondered on putting a flat in a magnum motor, and im sure it has been done if not because of initial cash outlay, but probably because some one had a pile of hoarded thru the years parts on his shelf in the garage and used them instead of buying more! no where in my posts did i say go fast using cheap stuff, but being cost conscious. im not going to spend a grand doing a cam swap. in a stock 87-95 5.0l ho ford its fairly common knowledge(in the ford world) how much cam can be stuffed in without worry of piston to valve issues. that number is around .540lift and 290 duration. to be sure that same knowledge exists with mopars. im not trying to set new records with this truck, jsut something to better compliment the other parts that are already there. this truck as originally built when magnum motors were brand new and NO hotrod parts were available! the owner waited a year for an intake from bouchillon and all that he could get was a single plane so he took it.
yes i know how to change springs, have done it many times. yes the springs will be replaced, their 18 years old. thanks for the posts they are appreciated mike t
 
rumblefish360 said:
I think the cost of a roller to a Hyd. cam swap is not only a step backwards but a money wash even with new springs. The cam regrind (Roller cam) can be tailored (SP?) for use with stock springs. Since springs are mostly a lift item (YES! Control of the valve etc.....)

For the cost of new springs.... $100 - %150? in which would be the case w/the Hyd. cam anyway. Right? New springs on a new cam????? For best control of the valves and performance??????

IDK, going cheap isn't the best idea on somethings.
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never said cheap, said keep costs down
 
Dragonbat13 said:
Here is what I would do. First of all you may as well get ready to change the springs. If you dont you are going to end up with unmatched parts, have the engine winding at something like 4500, break a spring, dump a lifter, ect. All the time you would have wished you would have changed the springs. I understand about the reason for doing a cam swap, but I dont think you understand how easy it really is to change springs. If you take your time it will be no big deal. It may be alot of Time. But not hard work.

Here is what I would do. Call Hughes and tell them what you are wanting to do. They may have a cam that will work with stock springs. If they dont then ask If they have a cam and spring combo that will work without having to do any more than just change the springs out. They probably have that.

Another thing, If you change the cam out with anything with more lift, Your at least gonna have to check for valve piston clearence. I would.

In all honesty there really is no such thing as just swapping a cam without going through the whole valve train and checking things if you want to do it right.

I am not trying to be ugly or kill your idea but I would hate to see somebody who seems to like their truck change it up just to have it either not go any faster, or go faster then blow up.

BTW, And I may be very wrong on this one, But dont you have to pull the intake to get the lifters out in order to remove and replace the lifters so the cam will go in and out? If thats the case by the time you Pull the intake, you may as well pull the headers and the heads to look inside and check everything, and then it is no big deal at all to replace the springs.
Click to expand...
your not killing my idea. i am ase certified and have owned and operated my own business for 10 years. i have owned and raced cars since i was teenager and have built all of my own cars(was on the mustang bandwagon for many years!) the quickest being a high 9 second streetcar(alot of n2o) currently dont race cars, but dragrace boats with the ECDBA and can make an outboard haul *** too!
 
goldmember said:
It's easy to better the stock camshaft,send the stock cam to Tim @ Bullet cams for a regrind. There are lot's of flat tappets that would crush the hyd roller if you want to go that direction. Tim @ Bullet can give you good advice if you give him all the details. This stock bottom end 360 magnum runs low 12's and high 10's @123mph with a small shot and will soon pick up with a new Bullet camshaft. Hope to see 11.80's and 10.40's with a regrind.
Click to expand...

This is what i did, cost was 150.00, The stock 95 magnum cam is .390 lift, on a 114, Dur. @50 is a joke around .200, He re-ground it for .477, .477, .218, .218 @50 & tightened up the LSA to a 112, still not much of a cam, it was MAX'd for that core, car still ran 12.5s. shifting at 5100
 
Most stock cores are easily ground to .330" or .540" ish with 1.6 rockers. The lsa cannot be moved more than a few degrees depends on the lobe change as well. I have a regrind coming on monday but it's a billet 2pc core. I have a late Hemi regrind for a build as well,it was a good Comp grind but I didn't want to leave it alone. LOL
 
If you add in the costs of break in oil and running zinc fortified oil for a change or 2, any savings are gone.
 
pulling the cam tonight, and will call a few cam grinders on monday. also watching the for sale adds to see what fols have there. how would the stick from a 380hp crate motor be? enough vacumm for the brakes? on the research ive done these were around 9:1 motors also.
 
From what I have learned here,it is a streetable grind.Trick is,finding one.Went here 6 months ago.Had my local dealer do a dealer scan,no good.Used is your best bet.I ended going Crower new ,three bills.Kind of based on the Frpp b303.(wider lobe centers,114) 21 inches of vac@900.
 
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