Spyder
Member
Hello all! New to this forum and looking forward to learning a bunch. Looking for a cam and valvetrain suggestion for the below.
Last year I mostly "finished" a 20 year project of a '72 Challenger. Many many years ago I took the 440 out of a boat that had been built for that and put it in the car. Runs great, has decent power, and I don't NEED to change anything, but it's nowhere near where I want it to be. Forged crank, small valve 915 heads, ~10:1, currently has a junk Offenhauser 360 intake on it with an unknown cam, MSD box and distributor (also, wouldn't have bought the distributor with no vacuum advance if I had read more back probably 15 years ago when I was parts buying) and Edelbrock AVS2. TCI Streetfighter transmission (I wouldn't buy that again, but did it ~10 years ago without researching) and just recently put a Dr. Diff 3.55 Sure Grip in the rear end. It's Sublime, and has electric cutouts for when I want to be obnoxious.
Using the Dragy to check times, my 0-60 and 1/8 mile are just a tad slower than a stock 440 6-pack car would have been. Fun to run around in, but obviously I want more.
I'm pretty heavily considering this kit as a quick winter project: Trick Flow 620 HP PowerPort Top-End Engine Kit for Big Block Mopar 440 78cc chamber CNC ported heads TFS-K616-620-576 - TREperformance.com
It's got a flat hood on it and until I find a T/A hood, I'd like to keep it that way so hood clearance is an issue. That Trick Flow intake won't fit so I've already ordered and am planning to use the Holley SD. No matter what direction I go, I plan to use the Trick Flow 240 heads as they'll work with my current steering and exhaust setup, but am unsure on the cam. I want to keep enough vacuum for power brakes, and I'll likely only take it to the strip once or twice a year, mostly just want a rip around the countryside. I like the idea of 620 hp but realistically it's more than I need and I know that without all the other pieces just right I won't be near that anyway...and I don't want to start breaking other parts in the drivetrain with more power than it's set up for.
Suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I'm not on the technical knowledge or skill level of most of you but can figure it out as I go, and have done came and heads before on an old 68 Sport Fury I drove the crap out of when much younger.
I also recently brought home an ugly but complete and so-far rust free '65 Barracuda that's going to get a similar treatment to this one over the next several years. The Challenger took me 20 to finally get around to finishing, hoping the Plymouth will be 6 or so.
Last year I mostly "finished" a 20 year project of a '72 Challenger. Many many years ago I took the 440 out of a boat that had been built for that and put it in the car. Runs great, has decent power, and I don't NEED to change anything, but it's nowhere near where I want it to be. Forged crank, small valve 915 heads, ~10:1, currently has a junk Offenhauser 360 intake on it with an unknown cam, MSD box and distributor (also, wouldn't have bought the distributor with no vacuum advance if I had read more back probably 15 years ago when I was parts buying) and Edelbrock AVS2. TCI Streetfighter transmission (I wouldn't buy that again, but did it ~10 years ago without researching) and just recently put a Dr. Diff 3.55 Sure Grip in the rear end. It's Sublime, and has electric cutouts for when I want to be obnoxious.
Using the Dragy to check times, my 0-60 and 1/8 mile are just a tad slower than a stock 440 6-pack car would have been. Fun to run around in, but obviously I want more.
I'm pretty heavily considering this kit as a quick winter project: Trick Flow 620 HP PowerPort Top-End Engine Kit for Big Block Mopar 440 78cc chamber CNC ported heads TFS-K616-620-576 - TREperformance.com
It's got a flat hood on it and until I find a T/A hood, I'd like to keep it that way so hood clearance is an issue. That Trick Flow intake won't fit so I've already ordered and am planning to use the Holley SD. No matter what direction I go, I plan to use the Trick Flow 240 heads as they'll work with my current steering and exhaust setup, but am unsure on the cam. I want to keep enough vacuum for power brakes, and I'll likely only take it to the strip once or twice a year, mostly just want a rip around the countryside. I like the idea of 620 hp but realistically it's more than I need and I know that without all the other pieces just right I won't be near that anyway...and I don't want to start breaking other parts in the drivetrain with more power than it's set up for.
Suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I'm not on the technical knowledge or skill level of most of you but can figure it out as I go, and have done came and heads before on an old 68 Sport Fury I drove the crap out of when much younger.
I also recently brought home an ugly but complete and so-far rust free '65 Barracuda that's going to get a similar treatment to this one over the next several years. The Challenger took me 20 to finally get around to finishing, hoping the Plymouth will be 6 or so.
