Cam

[Ranger]

In the short time I've owned this puppy, I'm coming to realize it has a very radical cam in it. Not sure why the PO had it installed (he was not a gearhead or a wrench), but not sure I like it. I'll see if it grows on me, but I may have to tone it down. Not looking forward to that.

 

[Ranger]

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards yanking it.

Is there any market for slightly used cams or do I just pitch it?

 

[quikbird]

Trick will be trying to figure out the specs so can advertise to sell it. :dread:

 

[Ranger]

That's not a problem. I have the box it came in, so I have all the spec's.

 

[mcmopar]

If you remove it keep the lifters sorted as to which lobe they came off of. Box it up and take it to your next local Mopar swap meet. I've sold many a used cam myself.

 

[Ranger]

Roger that. Thank you sir. What would be a fair price to ask? I have no clue.

 

[rockdog2112]

What are the specs?

 

[Ranger]

Mopar Performance P4120237
Duration 292
Lift .509
Overlap 76
Centerline 108
Lobe separation 108
Operating Range 2600-6000 RPM

 

[rockdog2112]

Sounds like a fun cam.

 

[Ranger]

It's too much cam. Hell, I cruise under the operating range. I gotta put something tamer in soon.

 

[mcmopar]

I'd put $75 on it with the lifters. Just make sure the lifters aren't worn out. They should still be convex - meaning the face of the lifter should bulge outward. If the lifter is flat - or worse is so worn that the face of the lifter bulges inward toward the lifter - throw them away and just put $50 on the cam and let it go without the lifters.
Comp has a number of good cam choices for big block Mopars. If you want something with a bit of a bump up from stock but still quite driveable you might want to look at this one: http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=720&sb=2
It looks like you might need to have the valve guides cut down and go to teflon valve stem seals but you can stick with your stock rocker arms and shafts if you want to. I'd give their tech line a call and see why they say the heads need to be machined. There isn't a lot of lift on this cam, nor is there a lot of duration so their recommendation for head machining is a bit confusing. Seems to me they say that about all their cams, though.
Check with other manufacturers as well. There are so many choices out there it boggles the mind!

 

[rockdog2112]

Gotcha. I'll bet stomping the pedal down will get your attention. Hehehe

 

[Ranger]

I suspect that the lifters are fine. The PO only put 9000 miles on the car in 15 years and he had the cam installed, at what point in those 9000 mile (15 years) it was installed I do not know, but worst case scenario, it can't have more than 9K on it.

As for the heads, I recall him saying that there was head work done. He was "not a wrench" (in his own words) and had all work done, but when I asked if they hardened the valve seats he said "yeah, yeah, I remember them saying something about that". So my plan is just the cam and lifters. Now I just have to figure out what to get.

I think the cam listed above is still a bit too much, plus it requires replacing valve train, machining heads, etc, etc. Way more than I want to get involved with. I think I'd like something in the 1000-5000 operating range (probably spend most of my time below 3000 and rarely above 4000) and from what little I have learned about cams, a tad more lobe separation.
Perhaps something like this?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mopar-Performance/312/P4452783AE/10002/-1?parentProductId=746961#moreDetails

or maybe this?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mopar-Performance/312/P4286677AE/10002/-1?parentProductId=746961#moreDetails

Comments welcome. I really do need to talk to someone first though.

 

[mcmopar]

Either on of those will do fine. The first one is the factory cam used in the original engines so you can't really go wrong with that one. The Comp cam will work fine, no need to replace the valve train, but it might require cutting down the valve guides. I'd go with the first cam you listed since it is the factory grind used in the high performance 383's and 440's back in the day and is a "dual pattern" cam - meaning the intake and exhaust timing events are not the same as each other. The Mopar big blocks seem to like dual pattern cams when using the factory exhaust manifolds. If you were to run headers I'd recommend choice #2 since it is a "single pattern" cam - meaning the intake and exhaust timing events are the same.

 

[Ranger]

Thanks much sir. That is great info and just the kind of recommendations I am looking for.

 

[Ranger]

Either on of those will do fine. The first one is the factory cam used in the original engines so you can't really go wrong with that one. The Comp cam will work fine, no need to replace the valve train, but it might require cutting down the valve guides. I'd go with the first cam you listed since it is the factory grind used in the high performance 383's and 440's back in the day and is a "dual pattern" cam - meaning the intake and exhaust timing events are not the same as each other. The Mopar big blocks seem to like dual pattern cams when using the factory exhaust manifolds. If you were to run headers I'd recommend choice #2 since it is a "single pattern" cam - meaning the intake and exhaust timing events are the same.

Can you explain this a little better. I'm not as fluent in cam speak as I'd like to be (but I'm learning).

 

[MadBird69]

Running the 509 in mine and love it. I wasnt too happy with either it at first, but it did grow on me. Does ok around town, but it loves the highway.

 

[Ranger]

I'm not to sure mine is even happy on the highway. It's operating range is 2600-6200 and I only turn about 2300 at 60 MPH. It takes a LOT of RPM to get the car moving. Gotta be hard on the clutch. I'm almost afraid to pull out onto a highway for fear I'll stall it and get rear ended. It's just not a very "streetable" cam in my opinion.

I'm going to start to pull it today to see if I have a 1 bolt or 3 bolt. Then gonna call Jeg's and speak to a technical adviser for a recommendation.

 

[69hemibeep]

Call a cam company like Comp they most likely have more knowledge than a guy selling parts at Jegs. Then buy it from Jegs

 

[Ranger]

Called Comp cams and the guy I talked to recommended a 21-306-4. He did not seem very enthusiastic.
Called Jegs and he actually seemed more knowledgeable and more willing to help. He recommended the Comp 21-223-4. Said it was just slightly milder than the 306-4 , but still had that muscle car lopey idle. $15 cheaper than Comp with free shipping.
Here's the spec's.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Comp-Cams/249/CL21-223-4/10002/-1

Got the front of the motor cleaned off to the timing chain, but snapped a WP housing bolt and it's been giving me a hard time all afternoon. There is about a 1/2" stub sticking out so I though Oh Boy, I really got lucky, something to get a pipe wrench on. No such luck. It will not give. Tried slipping a nut on it (3 times) and welding the nut to the stub (both gas & MIG). No luck so far. Gave up for today and will have at it again tomorrow, but this is really wasting my time, not to mention pissing me off.

Oh, one other thing. I wanted to set it up for re-installation. Pulled #1 plug and turned the crank til I felt compression with my finger over the hole. Knew I was on compression stroke and stopped when the timing mark was at 0 degrees on the crank pulley scale. Rotor was pointing at #1 plug tower and both rockers appeared to be up (valves closed). All set, TDC on compression stroke, right? Well, maybe not. The timing mark on the crank sprocket is at 12:00, as it should be, BUT the mark on the cam sprocket is also at 12:00 instead of 6:00. Is it possible that the Bozo's that put the cam in installed the sprocket 180 degrees out? Is that even possible, or could I not have the motor at TDC compression?

Thought and suggestions welcome.

P.S.
I have not pulled the distributor yet and the timing chain is still on.