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Cam swap 73 340 cuda automatic

Ralph

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Thinking about swapping out my cam in the car. Have not done this in a really long time and will be doing this myself to get more driveability out of my setup.

What pitfalls will I encounter.

-will the oil pan need to be removed when replacing the timing chain cover to seal it properly.

-will I need to check the valve springs going from a larger to smaller cam.

-I know I need to remove the radiator and AC condenser but do I need to remove the front grill as well.

Thanks to all, your feedback has always been great.

R
 

Chryco Psycho

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The timing cover can be removed & replaced without removing the oil pan but it has to be done carefully .
the springs should be changed to match the cam unless the cam is similar & the springs are relatively new now & require similar spring pressure , you can actually do it without removing the intake using a magnet to replace the lifters .
I always degree cam when I install them to make sure the cam is in correctly as I have seen cam ground 11* out .
Personally I Prefer to use Lunati or Engle cams & have terrible results with Comp .
 

Ralph

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Thanks for your comments.

I am looking at a lunati voodoo cam 10200702, gross valve lift .475 / .494. Spoke with lunati and they thought the springs should match up with the gross valve lift cam I have now at .504. The existing springs have about 2,000 miles on them over the last 5 years give or take so they are pretty new. Degreeing the cam - not sure I am competent enough, lunati states they advance the cam 4 to 6 degrees depending on the cam if you use there timing chain.
 

Chryco Psycho

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I agree , the springs should be fine .
I can help you with degreeing the cam either here or on the phone , you do need a degree wheel & dial indicator with a magnet base to do it tho , or you can take you chances .
The 702 cam is a great choice usually iinstalled 4 * advanced
 

Ralph

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Thanks for your input and I may take you up on help to degree the cam.
 

Ralph

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I finally got my new cam in and it started right up using the start up procedure by Chryco Psycho. Never degreed a cam before and Chryco helped me with that and it was right on. Its the voodoo 702 cam and it sounds great. After the brake in period it settled into a nice idle and I set the distributor at 10 degrees btc and plugged the vacuum advance in. I have the AVS2 650 carb with Edelbrock performer RPM and it had real good throttle response at idle.
Its cold and snowing here so I will wait for warmer weather to fine tune and take for a ride.

So I am a real happy camper right now, time to work on the challenger.

thanks Chryco Psycho and the guys !
 

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