Mopar Cams???

[djswwg]

just read MRNORMS440 thread regarding a cam change, and this question came to mind. Who grinds Mopar Perfs. cams for them? I know that years ago the "Hustle Stuff" catalog recommended Racer Brown cams, maybe them??.......djs

[MR. NORM 440]

Im not sure of the grinder, perhaps schneider or wolverine? The 590 was a stout cam, I dont know how it compares today or if it could be improved upon, I might just put one back in since I know it works well, old tech and all.

[rumblefish360]

I'd like to know exactly how they stack up against the comp.

[cuda66273]

From an aquaintance who works directly for Mopar Performance....

Quote:
"Don, we send the grinding contracts on our cams to several companies and we take the lowest bid."

...is this where you want your cam ground?

When was the last time Mopar came up with a new grind?...1969?

Did you know that a cam can actually be ground to allow for crankshaft deflection under load, increase V/P clearance, increase or decrease cylinder pressures to allow for lower octane fuels?

Talk to Jim at Racer Brown, he's forgotten more about cams than most of us will ever learn in a lifetime.

Trivia:
A top fuel car will twist the crank 20* at full power...try and figure valve to Piston clearance on that one....I think I'll leave it to Austin Coil.

A top fuel car costs $1000 a second to run, that's if nothing breaks and your crew works for free and pays their own expenses.....anyone want to sponsor me?

[dirty dan]

Don`t end that statement with ,sponser me.
Instead it should read sponser me and you too.

[cuda66273]

I was thinking maybe you would be the "work for free and pay your expenses" part of the deal....LOL

[70AARCuda]

we all drive across bridges everyday that was built by the lowest bidder...LOL

[jelsr]

Lowest bidder is the way things are done. I doubt if Crane or Comp goes for the highest bidder when they buy new grinding machines or for the metal they use to make their components.

[dirty dan]

Originally posted by cuda66273
I was thinking maybe you would be the "work for free and pay your expenses" part of the deal....LOL

Hey Don
OH PLEASE !!!! can I?
he he ha ha
lol

[cuda66273]

Jelsr:
Just bit of trivia.....Pioneer, yes the cable people wind almost all the valve springs sold by every cam company in the performance industry, only the high dollar springs like the Isky SP's and Crower race springs and the like are actually anything special and that's mostly in the heat treat of the wire.

Hughes Cams are I believe still ground by Engle whose been around for a million years. Someone needs to get the specs on a Hughes and call Engle and get their price on the same cam...any volunteers? They know my voice and always hang up on me....sometimes I feel like Ralph Nadder..hello my name i...click?

Camshaft blanks or slugs are made by 3 companies here in the US and pretty much all cam grinders buy from them all from time to time as the quality of the casting is pretty much the same.

Just some stuff you'll probably want to file away in your brain somnewhere in case it comes up as question on Jeopardy.

Dirty Dan...OK as soon as I can get someone to write me a check for about 10 Million I'll put you on the crew list

[dirty dan]

he he ha ha he he ha ha all the way home

[djswwg]

So do Racer Brown and Engle have websites, anyone?....djs

[Dart]

I personally don't think the mopar cams are bad. I like the new .484 and the new .509. The rate of lift and ramp isn't that slow and they are real reasonable ($125 inc tax out the door). I think the profiles they offer are just fine. I know many will disagree, but they really aren't that much different than Hughes etc.

[djswwg]

I agree with Dart, Mopar cams seem to work well in my (and other racers) experience. I've checked Hughes website several times and haven't seen anything that makes me want one, especially the prices..................djs

[Kevin Garceau]

yes they will work "fine" if fine is all your looking for. I know just about any other cam company can get you into a better working cam than the purple shafts. Glad to see someone else feels the same way as I do. What do I run? Well in my 7.9:1 compression ratio 440 running pump gas and running 10.5s in a door car with no power adders.... the 590 mopar cam....lol
Why? Because when I built this motor 10years ago, I was 18. didnt know much and thought if it was from mopar performance it must be the best. Have about 3-5 thousand runs on the motor just never wanted to get dirty and change it.
Roller cam in the new one.

[cuda66273]

Working "Fine" is just not my objective...it's like being the third dog back on the team....the view sucks....

Mush!.....

[451Mopar]

Most of the Mopar Purple shaft cams like the 284/0.484, and 292/0.509 were designed for bracket racing in cars with high stall converters and open header exhausts.
The Hughes Hydraulic cams seem to be more of a street/strip cam that have a broader torque curve and better idle quality for cars that may run moderate stall converters and full exhaust systems.

Generally speeking, the Hughes cam should make more overall power with aproximatly the same duration cam, but they are a bit more expensive.

It's your money, but if the Hughes cam is 0.2 seconds quicker, what other part can you upgrade to gain that back for about the $60 price difference in cams. Or how much is it worth for 2" more vacuum at idle? The price difference may buy you a vacuum cannister.

[Dart]

I disagree.

Most of the normal guys out there wouldn't be able to tell the difference between comparable cams. Especially since most of the cars I have seen could take .5 off of their ET with a good power tune.

[451Mopar]

Good point Dart, many cars I have seen run on the Chassis Dyno at DynoPro were way out of tune!

My friends car with an out of tune Thermoquad went from super lean, like peged the O2 sensor at 16:1 at low RPMs to super rich (about 10:1) at higher RPMs!

My car, that was tuned at the track, had a pretty good fuel curve when measured on the Chassis Dyno. The Fuel curve was mostly around 12.7:1 but had a few points that varied by +/- 0.3 (12.4 to 13.0:1)

I haven't messed with my timming in years, I could be off a bit, but I think I'm fairly close on my ignition timming.

[Dart]

Case in point here 451...

I can't tell you how many big block A, B, E bodies that are running 15sec plus ETs I saw at Bandimere during the Mopar deal. That is downright embarassing. I would love to get my hands on some of these cars to tune the snot of of them. Some of these cars would have a hard time running with some of the ricers with the fart cans.

By the way did you sell your A518 yet? I may be ready for that trans soon. I am starting on my Dakota project and that trans may be exactly what I need.

[451Mopar]

the transmission is still for sale.

[Fast Orange]

Two MP grinds that have a good reputation and for a good reason are the 292/509 hydralic and the 312/590 solid.
These are proven cam designs that work especially well with ported oem heads.

[CudaMike]

cuda66273, does Racer Brown have a website? They did have a little advertisement here:
http://www.olyp.com/ads/page/2120.cfm
but it won't come up today. Thought maybe now they have an actual website.
Thanks

[6 packin]

I have a mag around somewere were they dyno a small block with a Summit Racing cam, then installed a very similar Xtreme Comp cam and made over 30 horses. Thats with the lift and duration being very close. I belive that the newer cams are worth a little. I am currently getting ready to run a big Hydrolic stick from General Kentics. This cam was new in the box and set at least since the early 90's. I would like to have a newer generation cam,.....but right now I dont see a cam swap of the same size worth maybe 1/10 of a second. I have other things to focus on which will need money being these darn tight times.

Oh yea the cam is near 300 adv dur and near .500 lift.
The typical grind and size that many people used and run over 10 years ago. I would say that dur at .050 is around 230/240 or so.

[djswwg]

Cuda66273; whose cams do you use?.......djs

[moparman318]

I believe that is racer brown. But whos ever he uses I would like to know. I want to get the best cam I can get and I know a custom grind is what I will end up getting.

[cuda66273]

Slap me boys....my engine has a Huggins Custom grind in it......soon to be swapped for a RB, It's real long story and there's politics involved which I have now rectified. When you do a project like mine you have to go through a "give and take" with the engine builder, this was one of the "Gives" and guess what...he also regrets it. He built another SB Mopar shortly after this project and used a RB stick......now he uses them exclusively, and you guy's get the benifit of our R & D.

If I could get some Johnson lifters that stick would be out of there in a heartbeat, I can see where the cam needs improvement and Jim is just waiting for the word to grind me one up. By next year Johnson will be back full production and that cam will be gone and so will the 12's.

[CudaMike]

cuda66273, see my post 4th back up the totem pole. Thanks

[cuda66273]

Sorry Mike
RB doesn't have a web site or email.
Email me and I'll send you a spec sheet to fill out and I'll give Jim all the info, I talk to him nearly everyday so I can get a grind number and spec sheet for you.

Don
cuda66273@hotmail.com

[Chumley]

Hey 'Cuda,
Just for your iformation since you seem to be the walking ecncylcopedia of this discussion, Pioneer does not wind any springs. They simply buy them from Associated Spring and resell them. Associated makes 90% of the springs in the USA. I am sure you will want to correct your mistake.