The Lunati cam swap is complete and the break-in is done. I will admit that this has been a bit of a nerve wracking job. I have dragged my feet through most of it because much has been just a smidge outside of my experience. This is my first solid lifter cam and my first time degreeing one. I read everything everyone wrote in all of the posts I have put up. I read the Mopar Action magazine article on "First Fire" in this months issue. I didn't want to be in the position where I skipped a crucial step that led to another cam failure. The engine started up within 2 seconds. Jeff ( My brother-in-law) brought it up to 2600 rpms and held it there. There were no leaks anywhere which was nice to see. The exhaust note from the back sounded great and actually smelled cleaner than before. I changed the jets yesterday from 85/92 to 86/93 and the power valve from a 3.5 to a 6.5 unit. The engine didn't make much of a "clack" noise like I expected from a mechanical cam, but it sounded great. oil pressure was at 80 cold, dropping to 58-60 when up to temp. Fuel pressure was between 7-8 lbs. At the 15 minute mark, the fuel pressure dropped fast to about 3 lbs. The engine started to stumble. The fuel filter was almost dry. I had jeff shut it down. We let it cool for 2 1/2 hours and got back to it. During the second run, as before it ran great and smelled clean, but at 10 minutes the fuel pressure dropped again, requiring shutdown. The pump is a Holley mechanical, part # 12-440-11 rated at 110 GPH. The pushrod is the same length as others I had here... I checked before reassembly. This pump has been fine before. I've driven at freeway speeds, 2600-3000 rpms and haven't had a fuel starvation problem before. At idle it stays between 7-8 lbs. The lines are not kinked and the clamps are tight. The cam sounds nice at idle, but not as radical as I had expected. To refresh, it is a Lunati Solid 316/326 with 261* intake 271* exhaust with .558 INT .578 lift on a 106 C/L. I didn't get to drive the car because I am curious about whether the fuel pump will be a problem or not. Here come the questions:
* Is it possible that the bigger cam pulls more fuel to the point where I need a higher rated pump? * Has anyone here had a similar fuel starvation problem during a break-in process? * If so, do you have a suggestion for a reliable mechanical pump? Thanks everyone. I may take it out for a drive tomorrow anyhow. I won't be driving at 3000 rpms for 15 minutes straight, so I hope that it doesn't conk out on me!
