Well after 5 seasons and 150 passes i finally decided to tear into my old Dodge for sum upgrades .This is a 360 (LA) stroked to a 408 .The old cam was an Edelbrock Hyd flat tappit and im upgrading to a Iskenderian Solid Flat tappit.After removing the rocker shafts and cam i noticed that a spring retainer on the right side was sitting different than the other.A quick glance showed my why.One of the locks was missing .Not sure how long its been gone and what kept the other in place at 6000 rpm is a miracle .I woulda lost the whole deal if that valve would droped .I was just gunna replace the cam and lifters .Now im gunna pull the heads and replace the springs ,retainers and locks .I could change them on the motor ,but im gunna go ahead and port them at the same time for sum extra hp.Car went 7.13 @ 96 last spring running out of air above 5800 with the old cam .Im hoping to get into the high 6's with the new cam and porting work on the heads.This motor is in my 63 Dart BTW .You can click on the link in my signature to see it go ... Old cam was hyd flat tappit : .488/.510 lift with 234/244 duration @50 with a 112 lobe sep The new cam is solid flat tappit : .507/.507 lift and 254/254 duration @50 with a 108 lobe sep Check out the intake port size on these Oval port W2 heads ,way more flow than a standard rectangular port on a standard small block Mopar head .
That's wild. Any sign of the missing half up top?, or did it disappear into the depths of the engine?
It is amazing it didn't drop that valve. Why did you select that camshaft? You have moved the power band quite a bit higher.
I cant find it.I checked for the missing keeper on the head ,lifter valley ,and i even ran a long magentic rod into the pan Via flashlight through the crank throws and i cant find it.Must be in the pan sump somewhere .BTW i spun it to 6000 in my driveway again the day before i tore it down ...
The car is lite (2750 lbs with lots of gutting) ,and the 408 makes great torque down low ,so that part is fine It 60 foots in the mid 1.5's now.The problem has always been failing on its face over 5800 rpm.It is only a 10 to 1 motor ,and i didnt want to go much more cam and end up with not enough compression ,convertor ,and gears .Im only after .13 to get it in the 6's (im cool with that).Its gunna need more tire and suspension to go faster IMO.Those things all add up to $$$ that i dont want to spend on it at the moment .I got a smoking deal on the cam and lifters ,so i figured WTF ...
I'll bet right here right now that the new cam makes more power at the flash point of the converter than the old one did...
Its funny i have had many people say that this cam is wrong for my setup ,but i read a write up awhile back where sum engine builder took a 383 Chevy stroker and experimented with 3 different cams.All three had the same lift and duration.Only diff was one had a 114 lobe sep,one hada 110 sep ,and the last one was a 108 sep .The 108 made more power and more torque than the other two from 1500 -6500 rpm .Only drawback with the low lobe sep # is the lack of vacume and nasty idle .I dont have power brakes ,and the idle is a plus.Im kinda with you on this cam will make more power down low as well as up top lung capacity ...
For a fairly budget oriented combination, you little engine has done very well for a long time. She's finally ready for a wash, a hug and a little bigger cam. Good luck on the 6s. -Abone.
Do your self a favor pull the pan check bearings (at least plastic gage them. also thrust bearing. Check your valve lash before the weekend bash that would have found the retainer problem.
If it fell into the pan it will stay there!But! I would pull the pan anyway and start fishing.If ya can't find it maybe it was never there!lol JimV
Actually "checking the lash" wouldnt have found the retainer problem .These are shaft roller rockers (not the typical SBC ,or SBF Dollar General items) ,so you cant see the retainers without removing the shafts.Also i dont check the lash on a hydraulic lifter before every race.I check them twice a year ,but i also set a hyd lifter at zero lash plus 1/2 turn.If your haviung to set hyd lifters before each race ,your either not setting them right or you are losing lobes on your cam.I think your mixing up hyd and solid lifters.Solids are set with a feeler gauge ,hyd are set by finger tips on pushrods (to find zero lash) ,plus a preload done with an eye on the rachet.Beginers are the ones you see backing off the rockers (till they click ) while its running to set hyd lifters .Put down the Chiltons manual ,it will just mix you up ...
I went ahead and pulled the heads ,ported and blended them ,and sent them down for a valve job.Took me 20 hrs to do the port work ,but i think its gunna be a bonus along with the cam upgrade.I also bought all new springs ,retainers ,and locks to complete the upgrade.Cant wait to try it out when i get the heads back on it .I was warned by a race motor builder i know not to get the intake ports too slick ,as it could hender the gas air atomization and not to enlarge them alot either with my cam grind.I mainly just worked on the "short turn" and sharp edges ,plus i removed the casting lines and rough surface.The exhausts however look like glass .Those Diamond carbide cutters eat up cast iron like paper ,so i had to be extra carefull .Here are sum pics of the intakes.Notice how i blended the pushrod Boss thaat pertrudes into the side of the port.I wanted to take it down more ,but i was scared of breaking through ,so i left a a bit of it .You can barely see it on the left side of the port.Compare it to the before pick at the top of thread ,when the head was still on the motor.Talk about a brick wall for flow.Its gotta move more air through it now ...
I'd have the heads flowed and see what numbers you come up with. With that data contact Chris Straub and have him design you a cam...money well spent!
Thats good advise Reed ,but its too late now.I have already installed the new cam and the heads are at the machine shop for the valve job now.When the current motor pops or gets worn its coming out for a complete make over (with alot more cam and compression).On another note i spoke with a tech from racer brown cams a year back about grinding a custom cam for this motor .The cam he recomended for this 10 to 1 scenerio ,heads ,convertor ,cubes ,etc. ,was nearly the same specs as the Isky i installed.Granted this was with the unported heads at the time.I just couldnt see pulling the heads to have a valve job done without widdling on them sum ...
Thank you.She does stand out from the crowd .The Dart is usually the only small block Mopar at the Nostalgia events and holds her own against the small block Chevys in equal form ...
Ported heads back on ,new stainless Milodon valves ,Comp double springs (340 open pressure),Iskenderian Soild cam ,10 degree super locks and retainers.Just waiting on the new longer pushrods at the moment.She should turn 6500 rpm now .Cant wait to find out .I found the broken piece from the old 7 degree valve lock down inside the spring on the next valve when i disassembled the heads.Found three others that were cracked also.Had the old springs checked and they were coil binding at .500 .The old cam was .510 lift and i think that is what caused the problem with the locks.It also chewed up the lock grooves on the valves ,which is why i bought new ones .I clayed the pistons for the new cam and im good to go.I had to make my own pushrod length checker from a Chevy checker and a cup style end i cut from one of my old pushrods welded to it .The Chevy orange paint on the heads and timing cover should be worth and easy tenth ,lol ...
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