360/380hp crate cam

[Belltone85]

Hey guys,

I have a 360/380hp crate motor in my 73 Challenger. I am wanted it to be more of a daily driver and wanting to know which camshaft would be better as the one that comes with it is not very friendly for street driving.

 

[js29]

There are A lot of factors that must be considered! what RPM do you drive, what intake manifold do you have. is the car automatic or standard, automatic's need A stall converter to match up. for A street car I like the Edelbrock performer package's they several different ones to chose from. good luck and welcome aboard!

 

[Belltone85]

It would be small city driving lots of stop and go, mostly between 2000-3000 RPM range. Intake is the M1 single plane intake that came with the motor. Most likely would switch to an edelbrock dual plane. It's auto and I believe the current stall converter is 2400.

 

[moparleo]

Welcome to the site. The first thing would be the intake. The 380 hp crate motors came with a single plane intake designed for higher rpm use. An air-gap intake would work well if you have the hood clearance.

 

[Belltone85]

Is it that much of a difference between the height of the MP intake and the air gap?

 

[js29]

single plane intake's kill your low end. there good for top end, cam's and intake's have to work together. as far as height go's you could call summit tech department and they would know more. I like the air gap myself, but if you tell them what you have and what you are going after they can advise you on what to get. My thought's would be a performer RPM setup!

 

[moper]

I believe the 380/360 came with the .509 cam in them along with the M1 single plane. The intake isn't a big deal really but the RPM would be a better match for your driving. IN terms of camshafts - the .509 is a ton of duration. I would recommend replacing that with the Comp XE268. That will drop in and will make similar power with the RPM. Going with Lunati or another larger, modern grind may require the heads to be modified to run dual springs. The XE268 is the biggest modern grind using single springs with a dampener like the crate engine has.

 

[Belltone85]

Thanks, moper. Funny enough, I was looking at that cam a few days ago. Hopefully I can get ti switched out by the time next summer rolls around. Have a few other projects i need to do as well.

 

[rolling_thunder]

Remember that the magnum series engines (MP crates) run a hydraulic roller camshaft. If you want to swap to a hydraulic tappet cam you'll need new pushrods, cam, lifters... use the AMC lifters (.904") that oil through the pushrods. I believe Hughes performance carries the pushrods you need as well....

Othrwise - make sure you get a hyd roller stick and just swap that on with a air gap intake --- if you wnd up selling the intake manifold let me know - been looking for one.

 

[moper]

It depends on the crate ngine you have. Earlier ones were all flat tappet (built in the 90s). With the later ones I'm fairly certain the 380hp ones were flat tappets, while the 300hp were hydraulic roller.

 

[rolling_thunder]

The Magnum series engines - both 300 (later 320) and the 380hp engines came with roller hydraulic cams.... the 300hp version was almost a stock dakota stick --- the 380hp version cam with a 288* / 292* roller. .501"/.513" lift (230*/234* @ .050)

 

[Belltone85]

I got my engine in 2004 and i believe rolling_thunder is correct in it being hydraulic roller cam.

 

[moper]

I stand corrected! Thanks Roller!

 

[Adam]

I agree with Moper on the cam specs; get a cam with 224 duration @.050, give or take a few degrees. This is a good street cam and will move your power band / range down to a lower RPM. You should also change the converter to a lower stall; it will make a big difference.

 

[Belltone85]

I think i will go with this cam XR268HR-10 from comp cams and lower the stall to 2000 and change to the dual plane manifold. I think it will be a good setup for street.