which cam

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DdgeDartboi

the beast
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ok guys i just wanted a little input on this.... i will be upgrading my engine here in the next couple of weeks with a few different parts..... i have a single plane eddy torquer intake manifold and i will be putting a holley 650 4bbl ( maybe double pumper) ontop of that...... i will be running hooker competition headers and probably 2 1/2 inch exhaust through some cheaper mufflers for the time being...... with these modifications i was wondering..... what duration/lift cam would you guys recommend for the best power.... i am looking for my dart swinger to be a street/strip car so i want it to be streetable but i also at the same time want that badass idle you know that rumble that everyone notices at the traffic light when your just sitting there...... if you guys though could help me out on this one i just need a few fingers pointed in the right direction about which one i need.... i am doing this to get the cam done and because the guy that is redoing my heads needs to know what kind of cam i am running for the valves and valvesprings and rockers and all that good stuff...... alright well hopefully i get some feedback outta this one... thanks

Toby
 
Toby, there is a lot of information that needs to be posted before anyone can even take a half educated stab at suggesting a cam for your engine. What size is your engine; what heads and modifications; what will be the true final compression ratio; what rear gears; if using an auto tranny, what will be the stall speed of your converter? All of these things need to be factored in before anyone can make any recomendations. Don't let the rumpty-rump sound of the cam be your decision maker, because you'll usually end up with a cam that's too big for your combo, and it will kill any bottom end power the combo might be capable of making otherwise. A well planned and co-ordinated parts combination will make good power, and that means that bigger is very seldom better.
 
Also gear ratio and tire size. Heads ported or stock?
 
wow.... ok well i guess the biggest thing i forgot would be...lol. i am running a 318.... in the end i will have the 8 3/4 sure grip rear end with 3.51-3.73 gears im not EXACT on that right now.... i am running an automatic tranny(904) with the stock stall converter in which i couldn't tell you what it is.... what converter would you guys suggest..... i haven't done ANYTHING to the heads as of right now but i just got my settlement check from my wreck with the four door and i should be getting those redone soon..... and as for compression ratio i really wouldn't know how to go about checking that its all stock right now though the engine is a stock 318 out of a 1972 dart custom if that could slightly help out a little on helping me figure all of this out.... im new to rebuilding the engine and just want a little input i have my father here which has been working on mopars all of his life pretty much but he hasn't had one in a while and is a little rusty on the subject.....but yeah the only thing i know for sure that i will have on the engine right now is the eddy torquer intake manifold , the holley 650 DP and the hooker headers.... other than that i will take all the suggestions i can..... like i said i am new to this i am only 19 years old and probably sound like the amatuer but that is what i am here for...... i want to learn and want the advice of the pros..... just let me know guys... thanks
 
Wiser heads will correct me on this but if I remember right a 72 318 sould have 65cc combustiuon chambers and its total compression be down around 8.7:1 (ish). If for nothing else I'd get those heads shaved to get a flat surface to start with and to bumb that compression up a hair. I dont have the formula infront of me but I would shave enough to get right around a 9.5:1 compression. It will increase your torque, HP, and mileage (if you can keep your foot out of it) all on 87 octane gas. With that compression Mopar Performance makes a cam that is in the neighborhood of .480 lift and on a 318 it is a faily good match. Im told other companies like Crane and Racer Brown make a split pattern cam that is the newest hottest thing but i dont have any experience with them. just keep that lift below 500 and duration below 290 and it will be pretty streetable (in my opinion) with what you've laid out.
 
Toby,before buying a cam,tell us the heads you intend to run or intend to buy first,then we can tell you the cam to buy based on driving condition you intend to do and rpm limits you wise to drive under.Is this a highway/street car/cruising car? Some thing to have fun with,not to crazy,but can do a little of every thing,Mrmopartech
 
If this were mine, I do something like this. First, sell the torker. Second, find a Perfomer 340-360 at a swap meet. The carb should be a 650 vaccum..also an easy swap meet score, just find one that's unmolested, and plan to rebuild it properly before running it. For heads, grab a set of Magnums from your favorite junk yard. Just make sure that they also have the rockers and valve covers, and agree to exchange them for uncracked ones, if they show up as cracked..It's fairly common. Have the Magnums gone thru, upgrade the valve springs, and have them drilled for the LA manifold pattern. (easy deal..) For a cam, a small hydraulic, keeping in mind the Magnum rockers are 1.6s, not 1.5s, so a cam will be bigger when running them. replace the timing set and fuel pump eccentris too. Run a set of Magnum pushrods, and a set of AMC hyd lifters (so the oil gets to the rockers). Small tube cheapie headers, and you'll be running well, for minimum spending.
 
right now i am running the stock heads..... sometime soon i am just getting those heads worked on a bit... a valve job and everything that i can for the money i have which isn't alot...... the car will be used as an everyday driver/strip car.... its not too much gonna be driven on the highway unless i am going to the strip but at the same time i want to be able to open it up on the highway if needed....... right now also the torker intake manifold is what i am keeping sorry...... it was near free and there are no swap meets immediatly in the vacinity of my home..... nor are there any junk yards that are gonna have any old mopar..... it sucks i know....
 
Ahhhhhhh, 318 on the cheap. Thats what I'm doing now. I feel ya pain in the $$$ department. Been there done that and still there. No running out for a 4 link 6 spd EFI HEMI swap for me. LOL!

The TorkerII isn't to bad to deal with at all. It power many cars for years. Thats what ya got, then thats what'll get used. Try this out........

In dealing with what you have and the 3.73 gears and a 2500 stall;

Install larger valves in the head. Use 360's 1.88 - 1.60 valves. Port match the in intake and open up the exhaust windows. Save a few bucks for it. It'll be worth it. If you can bowl port the heads, all the better. If you can get Dad or if you have the money go get yourself a die grinder and some bits for iron/steel. You can use the gasket to match up. Get some red colored die to paint the surfaces, a scratch all to mark, and the grinder to cut it away. Do not go to deep. An inch is enuff.
A Comp Cam that will work preety well with the above mods and intake is a Magnum cam. The 280H rated @ .050 - 230 w/ .480 lift. Should you move to Magnum heads, you'll need minor guide clearance work for the above .500 lift it creates with the increased rocker ratio. (.480 / 1.5 X 1.6 = .512)
2-1/2 inch exhaust. H or X pipe it. (H is cheap and easy to do. Weld ethier in.

I did something similar with 360 heads years ago. It was a real mover up top. Ok for Hwy. driving. Moper has a good point about the Magnum heads.


sefus, I think your right. About 8.5 to 8.7 -1 sound about the ball park. Doesn't matter. A light mill will take care of that. BUT, I myself would only go to 9.3-1 as a max with the stock thin gasket. Theres octane problems with iron heads and still yet a small cam (though on a 110 centerline) and I'm not to sure on valve clearances. He should clear no problem.

Hey, whats the max octane in your state of Ga. ? 93 right? You'll be good to go.
 
thanks so much rumble thats what i really needed there other than the throwing around of a bunch of stuff and what i need to do.... you told me with what i have what i can do...... i do have a guy that owns a machine shop that i will be getting to do my heads as soon as i get a little extra cash but as of right now i just want to get the engine put in and my car on the road...... and thanks Mrmopartech for the number i will give that a try and see how that works out
 
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