Cranking compression

mikesduster said
Ok,WHERE do I begin???? 1st,YES to all your question EXCEPT it is NOT a "race car" but a street/strip car.
When we put the motor together,we checked and re-checked everything and yes,it came out to 12:1 compression. The cam is ground on 108 but installed at 104 AND degreed in!!!!!!
My gauge is old and it may be off so Im gonna recheck today.

Ok, good. At least you KNOW the engine. That's a lot better than guessin. Keep in mind, most cam grinders grind 4 degrees advance INTO the cam.....because most people choose too big and that helps make up for bottom end torque loss. So, you could be 8 degrees advanced. That's a ton. THAT should tell you how big that camshaft really is right there. Because as you advance camshaft timing, cylinder pressure goes up. So, if you're 8 degrees advanced, which it sounds like you are, that means you had to go 8 degrees JUST to get to the pressure you have now. Make sense? When I choose a camshaft, I always keep in the back of my mind what the factory used in the hipo version of the engine I'm building at that time. Those engines were torque monsters and they had much smaller cams than most people choose. Not saying you should go with something comparable to a factory cam, BUT, Chrysler did make an engine with 13.5 to 1. The Max Wedge. That engine had 300 degrees duration. Now, depending on how they measured .050" duration back then, it either had 225 at .050" or 255 at .050". It all depends on whether they used 750 as the checking standard, or 850 like Mopar Performance does. Even if they used 850, that puts that cam at 255 at .050" and they had 1.5 FULL points MORE than what you have. That's a lot of difference. I really think that your power would pick up with a smaller duration at .050". But like I said, I would talk to Dave and get his thoughts. I'm no cam expert, but I've built a frigton of engines and tuned and recammed an equal amount. I maybe off base here, but I don't think I am.