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I know alot of people say go to a dyno but since I don't have time nor money just have to go off of what works for everyone else. I've seen some people post about the 590 mopar cam. My friend had this one cam that was like in the 570's that was a mopar cam and used to run his 383 for years at 7900 rpm and ran in the mid 10's. I was just wondering if these cams are really suitable for 7500-7900 rpm area under the right combo? Also was wondering maybe instead of going like a big 630 plus lift and just take a smaller cam like the 590 or smaller and adding the 1.6's roller rockers. I guess this combo work's out real nice from what I've seen, heard and read!I am also wanting to squeez more compression out. Is it worth buying special head gaskets to get another half a point of compression? or maybe just to some of us it is..



You need to get your engine apart to some degree to check a couple of things. First off, your piston to head clearance and secondly, how much valve to piston clearance you have. Whilst you're there you could put a degree wheel on your camshaft and get an idea of what you have. It's no good buying parts and discovering that they are not going to fit, or requires machining to get them to fit.

Whilst you're at it, if you haven't done so already, do a leak down and a compression test to check your engines health.

I personally don't see any point changing your camshaft until you have some idea of what it is. Going out and buying a 30+ y/o design Camshaft like a 0.590" Mopar Solid, or a camshaft with a more current design lobe could be throwing money away when the one that you have could get the job done.

I sound like a broken record, but putting the engine onto a Dyno is going to save you time, headaches, and in most cases $$$. After a test session you will know where your engine makes power and torque and just how much it actually makes. I have had friends and acquaintances in the past spend 12-18 months of racing and tuning and changing parts and get no where. They put the engine on a Dyno and determine they're pipes were too big, or they were 1000 rpm off on their converter or whatever.

In summary:

Check the engines Health (Leak down & Compression Test)

Determine what you're working with

Lastly, look at the car. Is your ignition system up to task, are you getting enough voltage to the ignition etc.
Converter? ( I personally think it's too big, and too low a stall speed)
Pipes? What size are you running?
I made some assumptions and ran a simulation in Pipemax

Peak power @ 6600 - 1 3/4" x 32"-34" primary, 3" x 17.6" Collector
Peak power @ 7200 - 1 3/4" x 29"-31.5" primary, 3" - 3.5" x 16" Collector

Alan Jones