Cam worth the money?

[triggerbear]

hi guys need a little advice here on a cam deal I ran across a buddy of mine has a crane powermax he'll let me have for $100 new in the box w/lifters the specs are 222`/234`@.050 .467"/.494" 114`LSA my ride is a 72 charger PB/PS 727 stock convertor w/mild shift kit 8.25 w/2.71 peg leg the motor is a 86 318 roller block w/360 heads cast#?(not smoggers)unmilled,edel.performer,625 cfm comp series carter afb,2.5 duals w/flowmasters (no headers).Heres my ?s.Will this be a good street grind?If I get it I will buy the matching springs&retainers,some 3.55 gears&suregrip for the 8.25,headman full lenght headers,tq convertor from MP how much stall? Mill the heads how much?Will this be a hot daily driver? I'm not concerned with idle or milage,with the present combo my horse is more like a slug it won't even turn over the 295/50 tires I hate it when someone says "wow cool car lite em up" I'll give a "got no gas"or a"don't wanta get a ticket" am I on the right track here? triggerbear

not a bad shaft hell for a 100 bucks id buy it just to try it as for converter id go with a 2800 stall and 391 gear set in the rear as for the intake id put an edelbrock rpm intake on it also the performer is the same as a factory intake just a lot lighter that is all the carb may be a bit on the small side mopars tend to like a bit more fuel in them then the other brands do the heads id mill them 40 atleast and use a a thin detroit high performance head gasket their alot beter then the felpro garbage intakes id use either the felpro 1213 or a set of victor or detroit high performance series also and use silicone on the front and rear rails put enough so you can just barley see it squish out. oh one more thing if the cam is for a computer controlled car id not try it

[pishta]

295/50 with a 2.71 rear! And you ask why a stock 318 with low compression 360 heads cant bark 'em? I would get a pair of roller 318 heads back on thay mill and get some gears. If you are not concerned with mileage, get a set of 3.91 or better gears and headers. Sounds like you are willing to put a few bucks into this combo, dont compromise on a used cam that might work. Get one that is matched to your components whatever they may end up as. Usually a cam is the first thing to pick when you are building a car, and shape the rest of the design around that, because it aint gonna change manners once it is in there.

[triggerbear]

Thanks for the replies the cam is new never installed.3.91s or4.10s will get me out of the hole but I don't want to lose my top end,wath is the most I can safly take off the heads I run 93 octane all the time what do you think about the weiand steath w/850 vac sec speed demon? triggerbear

an 850 is way to much think 650 or 750 at most well if you want the car to run then put a gear in it if your into the fast and furious high speed stuff then dont put a gear in it but if you want it to be a good all around street car then put 391 gearset in it and be happy and put an edelbrock rpm intake on it and use a double pumper holley on it and a 2800 stall in the tranny then it will start to get out of its own way on the heads mill them 40 and smooth out the bowls that will get you the best bang for the buck on them

[ehostler]

A brand new Racer Brown custom ground cam with lifters, won't cost you much more that what your buddy is wanting for a generic cam.

If you want a good converter, get a Dynamics Converter. There is none better.

Unless you do some major work to that engine, the 850 will be way too large. Get with Don over at FBO Systems. He will set you up with the best Demon for your application. It will even be coarse tuned for your application. You will just need to do some minor fine tuning at the track. He also provides great post sales support.

[rumblefish360]

h&bracing gives good advicce. If top end is something your not going to give up, then a smaller cam or 3.73 is as low of a gear set you should go.
With that cam, the duration will leave you at the line sooo long with your current set up, by the time you get going, you'll need to shave.
Is this on the cheap? If so, break off the Ka-ching and spring for headers at least and a good converter. Everything else will do and/or can be modified by yourself with ease to help bring up to spec. I can out line it if need be.

[triggerbear]

Lots of choices I like that cause I have lots of goals 1.a 125-130 mph top speed. 2.roast tires at will. 3. 93 octain 4.cost $1500 tops. 5.no track daily street car. 6.use as much of what I already have as I can. 7.no laughing gas. 8. 0-60mph/7sec.or less. 9. good power at cruise speeds 50-70mph, well there they are,any that arn't realistic or need to traded off?can I have my cake and beat it too?all sudjestions are welcome&thanks to all that reply. triggerbear

[rumblefish360]

Well, you can have your cake and eat it too. But it may not be all that you think it can be. There are trade offs in the process.
The best way to have the cake and eat it to is to double the amount of cash you have set and purchase a Super charger.

1.a 125-130 mph top speed

At max RPM, this is possible with a 3.73 gear. You might have to spin the engine a bit.

2.roast tires at will.

Well, not at speed I would hope. To do this would require a numericaly high gear. Not the dead peg leg you have now.

3. 93 octain

Then not more than 9.5-1 carbed, or, 6-8 psi on a low comp engine.

4.cost $1500 tops.

Without superchargeing, that maybe hard to do. Seeing that you need a converter and higher gears to fullfill #8 or make use of a supercharger for serious HP increase.

5.no track daily street car.

Then keep the comp ratio and cam mild.

6.use as much of what I already have as I can

Your looking good so far.

.no laughing gas.

None needed.

8. 0-60mph/7sec.or less.

higher rear ratio needed.

9. good power at cruise speeds 50-70mph,

Thats a 20 mph spread. Thats a lot. Keep cam and comp reasonable.

well if you go to a supercharger you will need a blow through carb and those are not cheap at all about 900 bucks hell put a 355 gear in it and a 25 to 2600 stall in it then and mill the heads 40 blend the bowls and smmoth out the runners put a performer rpm intake on it then you should be happy and then you can play the fast and the furious oh and put some ggo brakes on it to stop it

[triggerbear]

Thanks for the sudgestions.I'll probably get some gears (3.73 most likely)and headers for x-mas.Any ideas on the ignition? The single point sys not gonna cut it.About $300 is all I can budget for dist.,coil,wires.(have accell chrm. SS coil but its for points)I have a TCI master kit and will rebuild the 727 when I get a convertor.Will do the heads&cam w/my tax ck.thanks again Triggerbear P.S. welcome aboard H&B glad to have you.

[ehostler]

Yo can get a great ignition system from FBO Systems.

[triggerbear]

thanks for the tip are they easy to install & adjust?

[rumblefish360]

well if you go to a supercharger you will need a blow through carb and those are not cheap at all about 900 bucks

Not true. You can do any mods yourself. Not hard to do.

ive read the blow through carb page it gives instructions on what goes inside as in floats and some minor work but it isent a complete how to do setup it leaves alot of info out alot of blow through carbs use bleeds in the emulsion circut like a bg carb and those are used to get the fuel curve tuned without them your lost in space ive done some reading on the subject i thought about that route also

[rumblefish360]

Anybody do an AFB blow through carb set up?

[ehostler]

Originally Posted by triggerbear

thanks for the tip are they easy to install & adjust?

The FBO setup looks just like the MOPAR electron ignition setup. It uses a tuned MOPAR electronic distributor with a custom designed ECU that looks like the MOPAR ECU. It also comes with a great coil.

[MOPARMANJAMES]

I think your goals are easy to meetwithout even changing gears.
Larry Shepard wrote an excellent article on the 318 swirl port ported heads and I think that would be the best way to go. I found a set in the junkyard for $50.
Install 1.88" intakes and 1.60" exhaust valves and do some bowl blending.
The cost of this should be less than $500.
Buy a re-ring kit for the 318, approx. $200.
Machine work approx. $150
The FBO ignition is a bargain at $120
The cam is fine for what you want $100
Headers $120
2900 stall converter $300

I'm assuming the car weighs 4000#, with similar 360 swirlheads/no port workP5249459,(my program didn't have the 318 heads), 625cfm carb, 2900 stall, that cam, 2.71 gears and the 295-50-15's.
The car ran 14.42 @ 98mph in second gear at 5722rpm, while shift point was 5900rpm, made 328hp and 342ft/lbs of tq.
0-60 is 5.86 seconds, and the computer had to hold the throttle at 70% open during launch to avoid tire spin.
I think she'll do 130 easy but the torque converter will be heating up so don't hold it there for long.
Just a final note, with a 12" B&M streetshot converter stalling at 2200 rpm it ran 14.77@98 mph at 5670rpm and 0-60 in 6.31 seconds.
Keep in mind these are rough estimates but are usually within 4% accuracy.

[MOPARMANJAMES]

I forgot to mention I blocked off the heat cross-over on the manifold, worth 10 hp!

[triggerbear]

Thanks Ed I checked there site out the FBO looks like the way to go.they have a great package deal thats write in my price range.thanks for pointing me in the write direction.I'd seen them mentioned in past posts but never considered them.I most likely would have used a MP package and ended up buying several boxes ie.ornge.,chrm.etc. what mods should I install first?(as I will eventualy get them all)wish list;headers,gears&suregrip,cam&mill heads,stall convertor,bigger carb,ignition,intake,I can only spend $300or$400 at a time and with extended peiods between.I can only have the car down a few days at a time as its my daily driver.I'm not sure what steps to take as my last streeter (72 RR) everything was stacked in a closet for 2 yrs til it was all there.had to crawl around in a 68 crumbaro (bondo bucket)for 4 mounths while I put the bird back together I'd go insane if I had to drive my wife's boneiville every day.please steer me in the write order I want to taste that frosting. Thanks Triggerbear sorry for the looong post

[MOPARMANJAMES]

Since you can't take the car down for an extended period, I would suggest buying a junkyard 360 and rebuilding it while driving your car and then swapping it in when the time comes. You'll be happier and will spend less on the 360.