318 Cam Maybe Not

[toolmanmike]

Exactly why I like recommending the DEH grinds from Comp. They are ground in a similar fashion and are not very expensive.

To the OP, don't fret yourself with details. Will this work with manifolds? Is this one right? Is this one wrong? A camshaft doesn't know if it's breathing through headers or manifolds. Will one work better with manifolds or headers? Probably, but are you looking for every ounce of HP? I doubt it. You will drive yourself crazy with details. For your application, all you need is a cam with no more than about 226 @ .050 duration (that's actually gettin a little big) and ground on either a 108 or 110 LSA. I would keep lift conservative, so you can continue to use stock rockers. So that means IMO .470 and less. Then you can also take advantage of inexpensive valve springs like Comp's 901 spring. You can do this all on an extreme budget if you stay away from snappy names like Thumpr and Whiplash.........not that those cams don't work, they do, but there are cams that can do just as well for less, so why not save the money?

One last note, there's no need to drive yourself insane on a decision. Just stick with the guidelines I posted and you will win. There's no need to try to micromanage this. You're not lookin for every last HP you can find. All you want is something snappy and reliable. You've been given that info already. Use it.

No need to make this difficult, because it is very simple.

That’s the biggest problem.
Fretting over the possible 5hp loss from a bad choice.
And such....

Well said.

 

[RustyRatRod]

That’s the biggest problem.
Fretting over the possible 5hp loss from a bad choice.
And such....

Exactly so. Whose to say what cam will be a loss? There's only two places that can tell. The dyno and the drag strip. Everything else is mere opinion, because every single engine is different. What may "lose" 5 HP in one, may gain 10 in another.

That's why I say don't sweat it. Unless you have a dyno in your shop, or a drag strip in your back yard, it really doesn't matter.

 

[Rustyfish]

I'm not sweating it. I just don't feel like throwing a bunch of money at an engine that I might replace down the road if I find a 360 locally.

I like the rv cams like Rusty said, torque and cheap.

Plus, if I get any more hp I'm gonna need a rear replacement and you'd think a body 8 3/4 are made of gold around here. Pretty sure I can find a junk yard 8 1/4 for far less. But that would be when I get tired of the current set up or blow up the current rear.

 

[TrailBeast]

Plus, if I get any more hp I'm gonna need a rear replacement and you'd think a body 8 3/4 are made of gold around here. Pretty sure I can find a junk yard 8 1/4 for far less. But that would be when I get tired of the current set up or blow up the current rear.

Around here I priced an 8.25 from a Jeep Grand Cherokee, complete with all the disc brake hardware for $225
For that price I will feel just fine about the mods it will need to go in.

 

[Rustyfish]

Around here I priced an 8.25 from a Jeep Grand Cherokee, complete with all the disc brake hardware for $225
For that price I will feel just fine about the mods it will need to go in.

Now that's a nice score. Would you have to alter it, or is that a direct fit?

 

[TrailBeast]

Now that's a nice score. Would you have to alter it, or is that a direct fit?

I'm going to have to cut 1,000 lbs of brackets and crap off and put perches on it.
We'll see if I have to cut tubes and axles, but I might get away with it the way it is if I can come up with a deep enough offset wheel.
If not, I have all the tools here to cut it down.

 

[273]

That’s the biggest problem.
Fretting over the possible 5hp loss from a bad choice.
And such....

Exactly.

Most these cams are gonna be similar between 2500-4500 rpm. On the street plus 4500 rpm isn't gonna do as much as under 2500 rpm especially if your shy with gear and stall.

Anything under 260 and or 210 @ 0.050" is probably needlessly to small. And any cam over 265 and or 215 @ 0.050" is starting to get on the big side for a mild 318. As for LSA were really talking overlap but some reason its not a very published or talked about spec. But 110 is a good compromise thats why most cams are cut on it. But if mileage and or idle is more important I'd go smaller cam then wider LSA. So eg. instead of a 265 on 114 I'd go 260 on 110.
Cause overlap is a function of duration and LSA.

And generally the more lift you can get for the same duration will be a boost to performance with little side effects besides maybe a little noise and slightly less life.

But like said all the cams in that range will perform in a pretty similar manner, can't go to wrong.

 

[LXguy]

I put this cam in my Satellite. Stock 318. Stock heads. I installed a Holley street dominator intake (dual plane would be better, but I am spraying it), as well as some hooker headers and dual muffler shop exhaust.

Summit Racing® Classic Camshafts SUM-6901

The car picked up 70 rwhp over the entirely stock setup. Even better it made peak power 1500 RPM higher, so there's a lot bigger gain performance wise than it appears. 70 doesn't sound like a lot, but it is 50% more than stock.

You wouldn't see these gains with an edelbrock carb, but a dual plane intake is probably worth more horsepower on this combination as it is so low rpm.

It sounds frigging GREAT btw. Soundslike a much hotter motor than it is.

 

[moparmandan]

Sorry it took so long to chime and again. We got a little more road time with the car today after rebuilding the front end and brakes. So after installing the advance plate in the distributor farting around with the timing (16 initial 34 total) and Edelbrock carb I will say I am totally happy with the cam. we have stock bottom end, factory exhaust manifolds 2 and 1/4 inch dual exhaust. little lope at idle but not much, and letting it pull to 5000 thru 1st and 2nd it did great. Remember though this is for my seventeen-year-old. A grown *** man may want a little more......

 

[318willrun]

I put this cam in my Satellite. Stock 318. Stock heads. I installed a Holley street dominator intake (dual plane would be better, but I am spraying it), as well as some hooker headers and dual muffler shop exhaust.

Summit Racing® Classic Camshafts SUM-6901

The car picked up 70 rwhp over the entirely stock setup. Even better it made peak power 1500 RPM higher, so there's a lot bigger gain performance wise than it appears. 70 doesn't sound like a lot, but it is 50% more than stock.

You wouldn't see these gains with an edelbrock carb, but a dual plane intake is probably worth more horsepower on this combination as it is so low rpm.

It sounds frigging GREAT btw. Soundslike a much hotter motor than it is.

View attachment 1715123755

View attachment 1715123759

What did u do with the satellite after u blew the tranny? I liked that car..

 

[LXguy]

Haha, I like it too! Still got it. Have a "new" trans for it. Going to have to do something about the motor- #2 cylinder is definitely not happy.

Plan is to get it back together over the winter for more hijinx next year. Want to do Drag Week again. Might do some upgrades as well. Would like to try a dual plane - too bad everyone has such CRACK SMOKING prices on the LD4B these days. Thinking about putting some magnum or other 340/360 heads on it.

You can check out the pass that lunched it at approx 5:57 into this video. There is no obvious carnage in the video, but it definitely happened. LOL