Best cam for the street both power & sound

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RighteousWrenching144 said:
Hey everyone i am new here
I recently bought a 71 plymouth duster roller no engine or trans
I plan on building a mild 318 la that is choppy and has good torque and pep for the street and maybe some strip along with a 46rh trans and 3.23 or 3.55 gears

Plan on adding
Long tube headers
Edelbrock Dual plane intake
Holley 650 carb

Keeping the bottom end stock

The cams I've looked at
Edelbrock #7177 RPM
Comp cams xe268
Summit 6901

Ive heard of the hughes whiplash but i plan on putting that in my 81 d150 would like to have a different cam in my duster

I want a good lope and a little more power is the eddy cam good? Really like the sound but power wise is it good for a daily driver?

Any help is much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Oh, the sound is the mufflers job.

The camshaft will produce the rhythm.
 
In a more serious note,, We have all been there. 19 years old,You will make plenty mistakes in this hobby.
God knows I have. It's good to see some young blood 'round here. Better than most kids these days.Keep us updated on your progress with all aspects of the car and build. :thumbsup:
 
an 8/1 318, with a headgasket change from 020 to 039, which is typical, brings the Scr down to 7.7.
At 800ft elevation, with the stock cam at Ica of 48*, this is predicted to make 129psi CCP.

Put a rowdy cam in there with an Ica of 64*, and this falls to 112psi, and just like that your 318 feels like a slanty, until it gets up on the pipe, which may not be until 4000 rpm, and just after that the 318 hits the wall created by the heads.
So then yur looking at a powerband of from say 3800 to say 4800.
this is a bad idea right out of the gate.
Such an engine would need at least 10.0 to be fun. But that cam is way too big for the heads anyway.

Roll it back to say an ICA of 56* and a Compression ratio of say 9.5, and now you got a low-rpm torque machine.
Anything more is gonna need lotsa dollars to make those heads work, or just get some better heads.
To get to 9.5, the chambers gotta loose 20cc, so first up, the factory slugs gotta go. Second up, open chambers gotta go.
And Thirdly, it's not likely yur gonna be able to run the 039 gaskets.
To get to 9.5Scr, the total chamber volume has to shrink from around 97cc in stock form, down to ~77cc. with special attention paid to the Quench.

Or you can just start with more swept volume in the first place, seeing as it seems your roller has not yet got an engine.....

In about 1975, I installed a 318 cam into a 340, and bolted the 318 top end onto that, stuffed it into a 65 Valiant wagon and had a killer street machine. I was 22 years old.

340s are getting harder to find, but I can see a 5.9 in your Duster, in a heartbeat.

Somebody had to say it.

You can install a whiplash into that, install a dual exhaust, and just drive it. The 5.9M is big enough that even if the pressure drops to 140psi, that is not gonna hurt real bad.
 
Darter6 said:
In a more serious note,, We have all been there. 19 years old,You will make plenty mistakes in this hobby.
God knows I have. It's good to see some young blood 'round here. Better than most kids these days.Keep us updated on your progress with all aspects of the car and build. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Yeah and we all built those low compression overcammed engines too. Thing is, they sounded great, ran pretty good and were dead reliable. Probably just what a 19 year old needs.
 
Yes just watch how terrible a low cr 318 with factory stall and highway gears goes.
With mild cam, 272/272, Lift .454/.454 110 IC 62*, mild porting, 4bbl and duals.

Look at all the time spent under 3,000 rpm, felt like forever. (Sarcasm)

 
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don't forget, you can advance a cam as well....you can install a 110 LSA cam on a 104-106 ICL to close the intake valve sooner and get more cylinder pressure....IIRC it's ground like 4 degrees advanced (106 ICL).

22 years ago, I had the XE262 in a stock long block 360, it felt very healthy with some mild bowl porting in the heads, RPM air gap, headers and a 600 CFM electric choke edelbrock AFB. actual measured comp ratio when I put it together was like 7.8:1. I had cheap mopar torque converter (166K?), 998 tranny (2.74 1st gear, 1.54 2nd) and 3.55's in a 5th avenue and it pulled hard.

idle sounded good, but it still idled with about 14" vaccuum for the power brakes.

realistically for a 318, I'd consider dropping down to something more like the XE256. you have to look at the shape of the lobe, and how quick it opens, too. an old chebby lifter lobe with 276 advertised duration likely has less duration at .050 and .200 lift than one designed for a mopar lifter.

that 360 got replaced by the original short block from the 5th avenue (roller cam motor) with the stock roller cam reground by bullet cams and magnum heads (1.6 rocker ratio). with the thin mopar head gaskets I calculated the compression ratio right at 9:1. the lobe had less total duration and duration at .050 than the XE262, but more at .200 lift (HR259/316 lobe, 259adv [email protected] [email protected] 0.3160 lobe lift/.506 valve lift). exhaust had similar lift but a lobe with about 4 degrees more duration, ground on the factory 112 LSA, and I installed it 6 degrees advanced, on a 106 LSA. same intake/carb/headers as the 360. sounded great but not lumpy, like 16" vaccuum at an 800 RPM idle, pulled as hard as the 360, but got 4mpg better at cruise...
 
RighteousWrenching144 said:
Best cam for the street........
Any help is much appreciated!
Click to expand...
As to the cam;
My alloy-headed, 367 street-combo had three cams in the first 4 years of operation..
292/292/108 @11.3Scr making ~175psi
270/276/110 @11.3 making over 190psi
270/276/110 @10.7 making about 182psi
276/286/110 @10.95, making about 177psi
the Quench varied from a high of 039 to a low of 028.

I ran 3.55s, for the most part. but up to 4.30s.
I ran the 2.66 trans for the most part, then the Overdrive, with a GVod, then a Commando still with the GVod.
I can tell you that I liked the [email protected] the best; but it had hardly any cam-lope, cuz the overlap was comparatively small.
Some of the cam-lope comes from the overlap. Some from the carb-tune. Almost none from the Idle-Timing.
However, the strength of the lope is directly related to the escaping gas-pressure which at idle, is strongly affected by timing.

I have a 4-speed, so, to drive slowly, I gotta reduce the strength of the effective cylinder pressure at idle, else the engine starts to buck in-gear. The easiest way to do that is to retard the in-gear idle-timing; which kills the strength of the cam-lope, and the amount of power at idle. Thus, at 500rpm, I can get down to 3.7mph, with 3.55 gears, and parade there for as long as may be required.

This is less of a deal with an automatic, where the power-pulses get lost in a higher-than-stock-stall, convertor.
 
273 said:
Yes just watch how terrible a low cr 318 with factory stall and highway gears goes.
With mild cam, 272/272, Lift .454/.454 110 IC 62*, mild porting, 4bbl and duals.

Look at all the time spent under 3,000 rpm, felt like forever.

Click to expand...

You really think so? I thought it was fairly responsive "for what it was".
 
RustyRatRod said:
You really think so? I thought it was fairly responsive "for what it was".
Click to expand...
I was being sarcastic towards AJ book :) 318willrun's car is exactly what AJ says not to do or it will be a slug compared to stock, which obviously it isn't.
 
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I figured you were being sarcastic, that thing seems to rip for what it is. Tone of voice just doesn’t carry over the internet super consistently…
 
AJ/FormS said:
an 8/1 318, with a headgasket change from 020 to 039, which is typical, brings the Scr down to 7.7.
At 800ft elevation, with the stock cam at Ica of 48*, this is predicted to make 129psi CCP.

Put a rowdy cam in there with an Ica of 64*, and this falls to 112psi, and just like that your 318 feels like a slanty, until it gets up on the pipe, which may not be until 4000 rpm, and just after that the 318 hits the wall created by the heads.
So then yur looking at a powerband of from say 3800 to say 4800.
this is a bad idea right out of the gate.
Such an engine would need at least 10.0 to be fun. But that cam is way too big for the heads anyway.

Roll it back to say an ICA of 56* and a Compression ratio of say 9.5, and now you got a low-rpm torque machine.
Anything more is gonna need lotsa dollars to make those heads work, or just get some better heads.
To get to 9.5, the chambers gotta loose 20cc, so first up, the factory slugs gotta go. Second up, open chambers gotta go.
And Thirdly, it's not likely yur gonna be able to run the 039 gaskets.
To get to 9.5Scr, the total chamber volume has to shrink from around 97cc in stock form, down to ~77cc. with special attention paid to the Quench.

Or you can just start with more swept volume in the first place, seeing as it seems your roller has not yet got an engine.....

In about 1975, I installed a 318 cam into a 340, and bolted the 318 top end onto that, stuffed it into a 65 Valiant wagon and had a killer street machine. I was 22 years old.

340s are getting harder to find, but I can see a 5.9 in your Duster, in a heartbeat.

Somebody had to say it.

You can install a whiplash into that, install a dual exhaust, and just drive it. The 5.9M is big enough that even if the pressure drops to 140psi, that is not gonna hurt real bad.
Click to expand...
Normally I’d razz ya a bit here calling you a 318 hater, but yea, with an inexpensive 5.9, instead, miles ahead.
273 said:
I was being sarcastic towards AJ book :) 318willrun's car is exactly what AJ says not to do or will be a slug compared to stock.
Click to expand...
First intelligent thing you said in months.
 
> If you want power at sub-3000 rpm, yur gonna need pressure at those rpms. If you don't have pressure/power at those rpms, then don't drive at those rpms; either get a high-stall, or sit back and wait for the power to arrive.
As for me, with a manual trans, almost all of my street driving is at under 3000 rpm, cuz my engine is directly connected to the rear tires with no slipper device in between. So my engine has to make gobs of power at those sub-3000 rpms.
>For a normally aspirated engine;
Compression is heat, and heat is power. So my engine thrives on pressure.
>For a streeter, 99% or more of it's life, will not be spent at WOT blasting down the track.
> The vast majority of the time it will idling down the road at under 3000 rpm.
> Most streeters with automatics will be running 3.23s or less, and stupid-low stalls.
>Most of the time will be spent in "drive".
> Most streeters are somewhat concerned about fuel economy and the cost of fuel almost never goes down, so in this situation, Cylinder pressure is paramount.
> My advice is for this type of guy, and this type of car.
Willrun is in a different world.

But go ahead,
you guys can live in your own little tiny worlds, with your blinders on, making ignorant and non-applicable remarks.
IMO;
Some of you guys are just too old and can't think right any more. and
IMO
some of you guys have just never driven a normally aspirated clutch car with an engine that went from a V/P of 130, to a VP in the 170s.
If you had, SURELY
you would be singing a different tune.

Maybe you old guys need a reminder, that even a factory 440 TNT, didn't make a V/P anywhere near 170, not even at sealevel;
and I bet not a one of them ever went 93 in the Eighth either.

IDK, maybe you geriatrics just need to get your meds changed.
 
AJ/FormS said:
> If you want power at sub-3000 rpm, yur gonna need pressure at those rpms. If you don't have pressure/power at those rpms, then don't drive at those rpms; either get a high-stall, or sit back and wait for the power to arrive.
As for me, with a manual trans, almost all of my street driving is at under 3000 rpm, cuz my engine is directly connected to the rear tires with no slipper device in between. So my engine has to make gobs of power at those sub-3000 rpms.
Click to expand...
Most aren't running standard transmission.
AJ/FormS said:
>For a normally aspirated engine;
Compression is heat, and heat is power. So my engine thrives on pressure.
>For a streeter, 99% or more of it's life, will not be spent at WOT blasting down the track.
> The vast majority of the time it will idling down the road at under 3000 rpm.
> Most streeters with automatics will be running 3.23s or less, and stupid-low stalls.
>Most of the time will be spent in "drive".
> Most streeters are somewhat concerned about fuel economy and the cost of fuel almost never goes down, so in this situation, Cylinder pressure is paramount.
> My advice is for this type of guy, and this type of car.
Click to expand...
Your advice is tailored to your driving style, wants, needs. (which is fine but doesn't mean it's universal)
You don't even think a well built 318 is satisfactory anyways, nevermind less than Ideal 318.
AJ/FormS said:
318Willrun is in a different world.
Click to expand...
Betting most hopping up a 318, are more in this end of the world.
 
ah, i see we're right on track for page 2
>ditch the 318 and get a 5.9
>AJ telling us all that we don't know **** and that anything but his combo won't make enough power to pull a sick ***** off a piss pot.
>low key sideways remarks

i expect the discourse to be at least double this by sundown or i shall thrash you all about the head and shoulders with a well used fan belt.

carry on!
 
junkyardhero said:
ah, i see we're right on track for page 2
>ditch the 318 and get a 5.9
>AJ telling us all that we don't know **** and that anything but his combo won't make enough power to pull a sick ***** off a piss pot.
>low key sideways remarks

i expect the discourse to be at least double this by sundown or i shall thrash you all about the head and shoulders with a well used fan belt.

carry on!
Click to expand...
Typical for the 318 hater who thinks his **** is the best and only way to build a streetee engine.

After all being 71 means you know everything.
 
Gather your parts, get all the necessary info and get a cam ground for your car’s setup. Why be like everyone else and pick an off the shelf cam? Only costs like 50 bucks, (some time nothing) more.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Typical for the 318 hater who thinks his **** is the best and only way to build a streetee engine.

After all being 71 means you know everything.
Click to expand...
it's when "perfect" becomes the enemy of "good enough" and honestly, most all of these engines are just fine and dandy at "good enough" and most owners will be more than happy with that outcome.

i want a little more pep in my 318 2bbl: oh, well, sonny boy lemme tell ya something you're gonna need a 360 with a mountain of cranking compression and aluminum heads otherwise it ain't **** and you shouldn't bother!

well, i don't have that kinda money: that's not a problem, just get yourself some 4.10's and a 3500 stall converter. that'll put some tabaccy in your pipe! wake up that ol' wheeze bag 318 like nobody's business!

but won't that make my car turn a whole bunch of RPM on the freeway and give me an extremely narrow band of power to work with? i mean, i'm sure it's a kick in the pants around town but what if i wanna get on the highway and go see my sweetie? she's a ways away at university. and what about fuel economy? my utoob channel is just starting out and i'm not an influencer just yet, i don't have the followers so gas money is kinda tight.

pish posh! you said you wanted to go fast. everything's a compromise, so either spend the money or make do!
 
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