I thought maybe some of you Mopar guys might help me here so I wouldn't have to go sign up on a Mopar board to just ask this 1 question: Building the engine for a '70 Challenger, T/A 340-6, 4-speed, 3.55 gears. What camshaft should we use? I was planing to buy the "reproduction" cam that is listed in the Mopar Performance catalog Part #P4452782, 228/235 @ .050", .429/.444 lift. They list it as "Musclecar-factory original" but I was not sure if this was the same cam that was originally used in the T/A Challenger/AAR Cuda or did all 340s have the same cam? I need to buy something very soon as my dad is really moving along on the car. The entire engine will essentially be stock, .030 forged pistons, balanced rotating assembly, original heads will not be ported, the 6-pack intake and carbs will also be stock, exhaust system will be a reproduction setup. The customer is not a car guy and may not ever race or run the car hard, but we want it to run good should he ever decide to get out and enjoy the car. Any advice or info would be appreciated.
It is not exactly the same as the origanal cam. None of the Mopar performance cams are. Additionally we have had two motors (440 and Hemi) twist off the end of the cam in the last few years. Neither cam made it more than a month before coming apart. Both cams had less than 50 miles on them. I will never remotely consider having a Mopar Performance cam anywhere near my motors or friends motors again. You need to contact Bob K. He has a correct and strong running cam for your application. I have it in my Challenger T/A and to date it has run the quickest small block time for a Mopar at the PS races. If you do not have his phone number PM me and I will forward his info. Mark
What's different? Are they advertised as having the same specs as the originals? You'd think Ma Mopar could remember how they ground their cams 30+ years ago...o No:
A 440 in an RT/SE Charger freshly rebuilt w/Mopar cam done during fist day of driving. Tommy's 40K mile Hemi Runner it sat a long time so during the resto in goes the Mopar cam. During break in on the stand there goes said piece of ----. Both inside of a month of each other. Both failed the same way. Then buddy drops in a Hemi crate motor fresh from Mopar. I warned him against putting it in without a complete rebuild as they are junk and not even honed with a torque plate. Our best friend calls everyone including the chief engineer at Mopar for the Hemi crate motors (he is a DCX engineering manager, he can do these things). Mopar bum assures the quality and that they changed suppliers who build the motors. Assures we do not have any worries and all old engines purged. Motor broke in on stand properly. Oil changed, dropped in car. Test drive, seems like it may be fun when she is ready for a good beating. Next drive with family on the weekend. Opps motor done. Need to pull it out. Mopar help? No way, not remotely... Friend calls said bum engine chief with lot's of fighting gets modest help. Next motor taken apart before installing. Opp's missing a rod bolt. I am sure that would not have been an issue at all. That motor received a complete rebuild before installation. Not a bad deal for 5 digit cost upfront on Hemi and multi installs in the car. Not to mention cost of a rebuild on new motor. NO Mopar all the time. By the way I work with Mopar Performance and get the supplier discount. Their only interest is in how cheap the part can be bought. No other thoughts enter their purchasing process. I will never use any items from them. EVER again. Mark
Mark needs to work on his marketing skills. There are a lot of non-technical customers who would be impressed by: "Yeah, dude, we build our engines so powerful they twist the camshaft in two!" p
Wow that is some real garbage.I hear more and more of stuff like that.I wasn't always that way.What a shame:ball:
I would contact Lunati, Comp, or Racer Brown for their opinion on a camshaft matched to your 340's specs. That .429/.444 is a tad conservative for your application. Your 3x2 induction and T/A heads beg for a better grind. As for the worthiness of M/P cams: the cam I had the best reliability with was a M/P cam. I wiped out the lobes of two other "name" cams within a 2 year period.
Doesn't Straightline Performance (Scott Brown) do Mopar cams as a business and Buick cams as a sideline?
Drove in many stock type 340's with cams large and small. I'd recommemd the 284/484 purpleshaft or equivalent. Esp. with a 4 gear. Ray
Ditto, my brand new 472 crate job wiped 2 lobes after 10 hrs run time. That was back in 99' or 2000. We ordered 3 that year, and 2 went bad quickly, hate to say it, but I'd steer away from MP stuff too.ou:
Sounds a lot like break in problems, maybe caused by the lack of zink in modern oil. Their's plenty of information on the 'net about problems caused by taking the zink out.
Precisely. That is what I was told was the probable cause. The cam lasted 100 break-in street miles, and 6 passes at US131. Best pass was 14.02. Then the hardening was wiped off three lobes, which took out the #5 main. New Racer Brown 340 cam started at 13.89 and I got a best of 13.77. And I can drive the car on the street.....................
More like a problem involving the "lowest bidder" doing the engine assembly work. My buddy runs the parts department at the #1 M/P parts dealership in the USA. Every crate engine he runs thru his dealership gets an extra couple hundred dollars spent on it by sending it to a local machine shop to do a inspection on the crate engine. Lots of stories involving ~finger tight~ rod bolts............missing bearing shells........:rant: When Hodges told us he bought a crate Hemi and just dropped it in, my buddy Dave and I cringed because we knew what was going to happen: Ditto, my brand new 472 crate job wiped 2 lobes after 10 hrs run time. That was back in 99' or 2000. We ordered 3 that year, and 2 went bad quickly, hate to say it, but I'd steer away from MP stuff too
Our break in is meticulous. GM EOS, inner springs removed, cam awash in lube, same with lifters, careful test stand break in. Everything preprimed. An oil change with another bottle of EOS added. Only proper zinc ladden oil or now more often Rotella. Oil filter cut open, valve covers come off for a check, oil pans come off many times for a check also. Plus when both Mopar cams went it was before the removal of the zinc. Watch Lunati. Rob had two AMC's go down on them and I just lost my 455 HO last summer to a lost lobe. Again that motor had all the proper break in items followed. All three Lunati cams were bought about three years ago. It may be corrected now but I will never find out. Mark
I lost 2 Ultradynes in a row during break-in a few years back. All proper breakin procedures followed. Blanks came from Comp.
All the money I've spent on solid rollers now they are starting to sound cheaper.If you guys keep talking I'm gonna be afraid to use anything else.
