• Welcome to For E Bodies Only !

    We are a community of Plymouth Cuda and Dodge Challenger owners. Join now! Its Free!

What cam would you pick for mild 440 4-speed

moparmaniacc

Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
11
OK guys just humor me, I know this has been asked a lot. Looking for recommendations on what cam to put in my 1970 Chally R/T, the engine is being rebuild right now by a shop in Rockville, MD.

The car is a 4-speed and I will probably keep my 3.23 gears. It's a 1970 engine, Holley 650 vacuum secondaries (yea its a bit small), Edelbrock 2191 intake, stock heads, 1 7/8 inch headers. I drive street only - someday I might take a pass down the track but I'm not a drag racer.

I want to avoid wiped lopes. So someone mentioned I could try a roller cam, but after reading around a bit, I got mixed feelings about going that route. Do I just get a bronze cam gear or do I need bore bushings, etc? Does anyone even make a mild roller cam for a 440? Almost sounds like it's not worth it.

So the other route is to stick with flat tappet hydraulic. My builder said he could play it safe and get a Purple shaft, such as a MOPP4529270AE.

I've heard good things about those, and also bad. And the same goes for Hughes, Comp Cams, etc. For example Hughes practically guarantees against wiped lobes and then I hear someone else say they wouldn't ever buy one.

Bottom line, looking for your recommendation on which brand to use and the specs on it, for the best and most reliable grind to make good power 0 - 5500 rpm. And no wiped lobes ;)

thanks,
John
 
Last edited:

Chryco Psycho

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
4,402
Reaction score
2,044
Location
Panama
I love the Lunati Voodoo cams
The old battle flat tappet special oils & possible wiped lobes
Roller far more expense & can starve the lifters with idle & low rpm operation but do not require special oil .
Even if hughes covers a wiped lobe do they cover pulling the oil pan & flushing all the debris out of the engine & new oil pump etc ?
The good news is older engines like the 440 put a lot more oil down onto the cam from the cylinder heads than the 3rd gen Hemi so a Roller Should live .
All rollers use billet cores so yes you need a bronze oil pump drive which has a shorter life & probably a bronze tip fuel pump pushrod as well if you run a mechanical fuel pump .
The Flat tappet Lunati 702 or 703 cam would be awesome
I would have to look at comparable roller grinds from Lunati but you should be able to get over .500 lift with a short duration for great power in the RPM range you need .
The carb is barely a 2bbl , I run 750 cfm on 340s , I would absolutely be upgrading that .
 

Cuddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Messages
70
Reaction score
22
Location
West Chicago IL
I have a new in the box cam an lifters I haven't posted yet. Lunati p/n 10211005 and lifters 71977-16. 125.00 plus shipping. pm me if interested
 

Chryco Psycho

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
4,402
Reaction score
2,044
Location
Panama
Lift is free so more lift will not affect the powerband or the way it idles but more lift will equal more flow / HP
the only issue with stock heads is you are limited to about .525 lift without trimming the top of the valve guides .
 

Cojohnso

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
97
Actually? Cam selection is probably your last build decision. (Exhaust being final.) Bottom end first. Then head selection. Then intake/fuel. Then cam. Each component/system dependent on the previous build components. (They have to play nice together.) With the custom grind Cam options of today? Contact Comp cams (or other Cam specialists) give them your build numbers and they will recommend a Cam that best suits your build profile. But also your application needs. JMO.

I rebuilt my 451. Pistons replaced with same Ross flattops. New aluminum rods replacing the stock 440 rods. (Same length.) Replaced heavily ported 452 heads with a mild ported Brodex B1/BS heads. (Open chamber to closed chamber. Thus big increase in compression.) New E-85 fuel metered carb. (E-85 fuel to accommodate the compression increase.) Same flat mechanical lifters. At very simular valve spring size. Comp cams custom ground me a cam that was slightly lower lift than Mopar purple grind .590. With slightly more duration. Push rods actually ended up being a little shorter than with the iron heads. So placed with Smith Bros.

A-body Duster went from High 10 sec car to low 10 sec car. (Which is actually significant being same cubes.) I figured. If motor needed a rebuild? Why not make it faster?
 

Cojohnso

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2019
Messages
190
Reaction score
97
"Why not make it faster?" Is a symptom of the disease?
 
Back
Top