Looking to make my stock '70 Charger RT 440 auto car into a daily driver but would like to add some thump to the exhaust note.
Any suggestions in specific camshafts that work successfully with air conditioning? Preferably hydraulic to keep things simple. Currently has stock torque converter with 3.23 sure grip. I have a 10" converter lying around I can use as well if need be.

Thanks in advance!

A real daily driver...? I would keep the stock torqueconvertor. Go for torque, not horsepower.
A TC with any amount of 'performance' stallspeed on a stock-ish engine can make the car feel like a dud at low rpms and car speeds.

Air conditioning doesnt have much to do with camchoice although it puts a load on the engine at idle. Power brakes can be more of an issue if you have them because of possible low vacuum.
I would pick a modern cam with an advertised duration between 268 and 280 somewhere. These have some noticable idle but still make enough torque to keep the engine working against the air conditioning.

I once installed a 'Sat.Night special' torqueconvertor behind a bone stock 318 in a Dart. Made it feel like the engine and transmission connection was made of a worn rubber bands. It had to make unnecessary higher rpms to move the car in normal traffic. Felt like a turd.

OTH, I've also had a 3800 stall convertor behind a solid cammed 440 in a heavy '67 Newport with 3.9 gears.
The engine would flash to 4300rpm at WOT and could lay rubber well into 2nd gear, but with normal city driving, when accelerating from a stopsign, you'd have to rev the engine to 2200rpm to get moving at the same speeds as other traffic. That gets old very fast.

Streetable is a relative concept... That said, I think the advice above is spot on if you want to be able to daily drive it. I'd just add that the high stall converter would put a lot of heat in the transmission as it slips in normal use... especially with 3.23's. Moderate cam duration and tight converter sounds better.

How about the rest of the engine... compression, heads, intake and exhaust?

Thanks for the input gentlemen.
I totally agree with you both. I am being untrue to myself wanting both worlds when the reality is it will need to be responsive in traffic.
Honestly just aiming for a more aggressive exhaust than a smooth stock exhaust note.

So keeping the stock 11" converter what do you suggest is the most aggressive cam profile I can go with duration, lobe seperation, lift?

As for the car/engine... It's a totally stock and original 440 magnum with hi perf exhaust manifolds, Edelbrock dual plane intake and 850 Thunder Series carb. No power brakes.

Thanks again

i'd try either the summit 6401 or the clevite k2079. both are the same profile with the summit ground on 114lsa and the clevite on a 112lsa. the charger is heavy and these cams offer good torque with a stock converter and manifolds. i have the summit in a stock 69 r/t and love the way it drives.

Lumpy idle? means the engine isn't working very well at idle. Hearing that in a street car I always think the engine builder paid less attention to performance and more to giving the appearance of performance.

Run an air conditioner? Engine should make decent low end torque.

How to get both? I'd lean towqrds 220 at 50 lift on intake, one or two steps longer duration on the exhaust, have to crutch those stock manifolds. Build the cam on a narrow LSA.

Like a Hughes 2024 ground on a 107LSA. That's what I'd start with.

The torque converter I'd leave stock, or use the higher stall TC from a smallblock like a 340. You don't know what the other converter you have is. Later on, both high and low stall converters used the same smaller diameter case. A good converter doesn't have to behave poorly.

R.

R.

Thanks again for the input.

Lewto184, I'm concerned the 114 LSA is going to sound like fairly mild like stock.

Dogdays, the Hugh sounds closer to what I'm looking at. Took a look at the Comp Cams Thumpr cam. Their mildest seems to have reasonable specs with a 227/241 int/exh dur @ .050",.486/.473 int/exh lifts, 107 LSA, works with stock converter and 2000-5800 range.

Confirmed the sound of the cam on some videos uploaded and appears to be what I'm looking for.

My favorite over the years has been the mopar street hemi purple shaft, #P3690214, I've had it in several vehicles including a 77 Dodge Royal Monaco. The cam has a beautiful sounding idle that clears out with the least bit of throttle and works with a stock converter.


cam specs from DC Engine book

lift .471
Duration .284
@ .050 .222

Not sure if the cam is still offered but it should not be hard to find one very close.

I had the same combination you are talking about and I put a Mopar .509 cam... Yes, the AC would work and not stall the engine... but overall the performance was Bad...and I had a 4.10 gear in it.
I pulled it out and put in the Street Hemi .471 grind... that was a great combo...

I have to second the Summit 6401. I've run that cam in 3 engines and been extremely happy with them. 224/234 @ .050, .466/.488 114lsa, it makes lots of torque and pulls hard to 5800rpm. The price is right too, cam and lifters for $104.00.

It also has a bit of a lope to it and great street manners.

I think the street hemi grind is long gone.The 280-.474 purple cam was it's replacement IIRC,I love that cam but it likes 3.55 gears and a little stall to really wake it up.You could advance it 2-4 degrees and probably be ok.

Years ago I had a stock 440 with the 272-.455 purple cam with manifolds and 3.23 gears in a 71 Chrysler 300 and it had a little lope and pulled very well.When I switched to Hughes Engines ported 516 heads it really fooled some people.

Thanks again everyone for the input. Has given me good idea what to avoid and which way to go.

HERE'S THE THING...the camshaft is the brains of the engine. It is not the place to save money. BUT, having a cam ground with a custom LSA isn't going to break the bank. As a matter of fact, it shouldn't cost very much more at all and shouldn't take a lot of extra time either.

I'd strongly suggest either calling Hughes or else Bullet Cams. Either should be able to get you fixed up, and I believe Bullet will surprise you with prices. Hughes might be a little more, but they specialize in Mopar, that's all they do. If you do go Hughes follow their directions exactly.

Nothing wrong with Comp, but I'd rather not go with a one-size-fits-all cam for your specialized desires. Comp will custom grind a cam for not much more too, most of the guys custom specing cams use Comp. So that's another choice, but the person you talk to may not know much about Mopars. Be aware that Hughes has their own Mopar-specific rough idle cam line. What I've put out there is about one step smaller than their smaller offering.

I've known guys to use cams in stock 440s that were 230 at 50 intake duration and they were disappointed because it softened up the bottom end. These were just regular driver cars, not drag racers.

R.

Agreed. I ran that cam for over 10 years in a 70 'Cuda 440 auto, 3.55 gears, LOW compression. Great idle lope, great street manners.

I run a Comp Cams XE294 in my charger with power brakes and a/c. I have over 10,000 trouble free miles on it so far. I do run a vac can under my battery tray though for the brakes. Also run a 10" 3500 converter, headers and 4.10 gears.

A little bit of lope to it. The "big" summit cam kit still doesn't have what I would call a real lumpy idle. Just enough to know it's not stock.

For many years I've run a Crane, lift 0.484 duration 226 degrees with Rhoads lifters, A/C and power brakes. Very streetable combo, runs perfect.