Mopar Muscle Association UK

Looking to install a new cam in the 440 in the Satellite that will give good street performance but sufficient vacuum for power brakes.
Currently running an old school .484" Purple shaft which works fine with the Rhoads lifters (circa 1987) but rattles like a bag of spanners.
Can't help thinking that there must have be some advances in cam design in the last 30 years?
We've got 1.6 ratio rockers and around 10:1 comp. Thinking around the 0.500" mark for lift?
Oh, and currently a vac sec carb with dual plane inlet.
Anyone recommend a spec / make?

One other component to wake up the old girl is a new converter, any recommendations eg stall speed, size? Can't remember what's in there tbh as it's been in there so long.
Currently it feels like it's taking off in 2nd or 3rd, so can't help feeling a higher stall speed will get it off the line quicker.

I realise cam/converter selection is a minefield but someone must have come across the ideal combo for a heavy old B body?

Cheers Stu & Rob.

Just to throw another spanner into the mix.... I was thinking a hydraulic roller cam (and appropriate lifters) would be a better option these days than sticking with the hydraulic flat tappet cam that's currently in there.

As for pros and cons, all I've read so far is that they are more expensive but haven't seen any other 'cons'. Anyone know of any real disadvantages?

Car will (continue to) be used predominantly for street rather than strip, hence our concern about the vacuum mentioned above.

I cannot make a recommendation from personal experience as I do not run power brakes on my cars - its usually the first thing to go in the spare parts pile.

Roller cams are great for bolt in peace of mind but you still need to check them fairly regularly in case of roller pin wear / failure. I assume you already have adjustable roller rockers as you will need them too.

You would also need a phosphor gear drive and probably a thrust button on the cam / timing gear to prevent excessive cam travel. More involved than you think.

Also any cam change would probably require a valve spring change to ensure they are compatible with the cam, so more expense / time as the heads need to come off.

On Pauls old Coronet there is a vacuum pump for the Power Brakes. It works well but it consumes electrical power and is bloody noisy. Just another thought.

I fitted a hydraulic roller in the Road Runner and it lasted all of a few months. The lifters kept failing so I pulled it and went back to a solid flat tappet cam. I put it down to experience, never again. I run the MP528 cam and power brakes, 16" of vacuum at idle.

Thanks Pete, good points there and I expect we'll fit new springs anyway.
Mick - do you know what was wrong with the roller lifters? Chinese parts?
16" vacuum is pretty healthy though.
What stall converter do you have?

I've seen Hughes cams work well with 440's too...

Stu Twin wrote:....Mick - do you know what was wrong with the roller lifters? Chinese parts?
16" vacuum is pretty healthy though.
What stall converter do you have?

I've seen Hughes cams work well with 440's too...

Thanks guys.

Yes I was wondering why that was Mick? I thought roller lifters were supposed to be kinder to the cam, but I suppose with more moving part there's always a chance of something going wrong!?

Low maintenance is always going to be high on our list so a solid cam may not be the best choice for us...

Roller cams usually run higher spring pressures and are more aggressive in terms of opening and closing so things still take quite a battering.

This is why you have to check all the valve train quite regularly.
The .588 cam in the Coronet makes 10" vacuum at idle, much more than a flat tappet cam.

This is the camshaft I fitted, I still have it.
http://www.compperformancegroupstores.c ... GCAMhydRol
I think these were the lifters I used.
http://www.compperformancegroupstores.c ... BCHRHFTLFT

There's a check valve in the bottom of the lifter which is nothing more than a thin shim of steel. The shim would shatter and the lifter wouldn't stay pumped up causing a loud tapping noise. If the pieces of shim found their way into the bottom of the lifter it would start working again but it would still rattle when you first fired the engine up. This happened to three of the lifters, the fourth one wouldn't stop tapping so I stripped it down to see what was going on and it all became clear. The lifters are not up to the job. I'd never fit one again.