In my dart I have a 360 with flat top pistons, Edelbrok 63cc heads, ld340 and 650 double pumper. .528 MP solid lift cam. I installed the cam at 110 centerline, per the instructions that cam came with. However to get the 110 centerline I had to advance the cam about 6-7 degrees. The engine does not idle like a had expected. The idle is very tame, it does not have the big lopey idle that i expected. The stock 340 came in the T/A has a meaner idle than that of the dart. Could this be a cam degree issue?

You sure you did'nt mistakenly retard instead of advance?

It has been several months back since I assembled the engine. I installed the cam straight up, then degreed it, it was at 103. Then I put in my offset keys and adjusted the offset on the timing chain. So yes i did retard the shaft 7 degrees. Moving the cam that much just to have it the required centerline at the time seemed excessive, and I checked and double checked the numbers and figured I would be OK.

does the crank gear have 3 keyways? if so maybe its in the wrong keyway, . the .528 isn't a hot cam but tightening the valve lash will give more duration.

did all the other(measured) specs, lift etc match what was on the cam card

The crank sprocket does have 3 key ways -4,0,+4 I had to change the keyways in order change the centerline to 110. My valve lash is at .017

Also the specs did match the cam card.

what were the installed specs?

.528/.528, 284 duration, 241 @50, 110 centerline

just a quick note..

make sure you are on the intake lobe and not the exhaust lobe...

The LSA, (lobe separation angle) dictates whether or not you'll have a choppy idle. What is the LSA?

This cam? P4120653

110 intake centerline
112 LSA

That cam does not have much overlap and has a pretty mild sounding idle. Changinging the ICL wont change the overlap. Tighten the lash 0.004" will add some lope.

First, you had to advance the cam to reach 110 because MPs quality control is not really good. Not your mistake, and I commend you for degreeing it properly. Second, the .528 is a fairly mild solid. It has about the same duration as the hydraulic 484 cam, and after lash, not much more lift. So in a 360 (longer stroke) and with good static compression, it will idle like a stocker, or close. Nothing wrong with the cam at all other than the manufacturing quality.

First off the came was installed at 110, and I had to use the different key way on the crank sprocket because I couldnt get enough adjustment out of the offset keys on the cam.

I intially set the lash to 028/032 for the break in and the first 200 miles, then I tightened them down to 017

Also, I know that the .528 is a mild cam, but I wasnt expecting it to be this calm

you don't state your compression ratio but low compression engines don't lope.

11:1