I spoke with Bob Karakashian on the phone a couple of weeks ago, and man! What a great Mopar enthusiast to talk to. From my experience over the phone, Bob is a very humble down to earth person to work with.

I called mostly because I’m very interested in his special cam grind. All I knew up to that point was that the Factory-Appearing-Stock-Tire (F.A.S.T) racing class that Bob runs his A12 Super Bee in, turns 12.09 seconds in the quarter @ 114 mph. And he does it with the required factory HP exhaust manifolds, a full exhaust system, and skinny G70-15 redline tires. I thought to myself that undoubtedly, these real world numbers speak for themselves. I mean, these are not engine dyno numbers, or chassis dyno numbers, but honest to goodness real world street/strip performance numbers, and a true testament to Bob’s expertise in big-block Mopar tuning.

The “Mr. Six Pack” Cam-

The conversation I had with Bob about his cam was very interesting and informative. I wanted to know how his cam was developed. First, Bob briefly mentioned that he had worked for Chrysler, which in my opinion, he understated that fact. I’ve since learned that the magnitude of Bob’s work for Chrysler was that his A12 Super Bee was a test mule of sorts for Chrysler engineers in the early 70s. Chrysler tested a number of new at the time Direct Connection Purple Shaft cams in his Super Bee. Bob went on to say that after some time his stock cam started to go flat, which apparently the factory Six-Pack cam has a taper to them, which makes them prone to going flat. At that point he turned to the major cam manufactures and had their engineers’ custom grind him a cam for his street/stock application. After testing cam after cam, none of them worked as well as original cam did when combined with his exhaust manifolds and tight factory torque converter. He then went on to say that he still has a box in his basement that is collecting dust with all of those cams in it. Disillusioned with the aftermarket, Bob thought to himself; I’ll design my own cam. Fast forward to our phone conversation. Bob told me that the factory Six-Pack cam is a great cam and that Chrysler really did their homework with it. Although tight lipped about the exact cam specifications of his cam grind, he did tell me that for the most part, it does not have much deviation from the original Six-Pack grind. He also told me that his grind is ground on a 114 degree Lobe Separation rather than the stock 115. In addition, Bob put allowances into his cam in order to make corrections for the lack of a true 1.5:1 rocker arm ratio of the factory stamped steel rocker arms. He is required to run the stock rocker arms in his racing class. Bob went on to say that his engine has such a glassy smooth idle, that he can rest a cup of coffee on the air cleaner while the engine is running without spilling. Then peoples’ jaws drop when he clicks off nearly 12 seconds flat in the quarter mile. After a while, people stated asking Bob what cam he is running. Bob tells them that its his own design, which is then promptly countered with, can I get one of those?!?! Again, the word is humble. Rather than do what a lot of folks sometimes do in the racing world by keeping their work secretive, Bob is willing to sell a copy of his cam to anyone who is interested.
Bob said that he’s helped folks replace their Mopar 284, and 509 cams with his own grind resulting in more crisp performance in their street/strip applications.

At this point, I have no qualms about it. My next street/strip engine build will have the now famed “Mr. Six-Pack” cam grind installed in it. Stressing over the right cam is now officially over.

Kudos to Bob Karakashian!

Quote from phone conversation: Bob Karakashian- “Most any engine can make power on the dyno, but can it get your car down the track?”

Read more:

http://sixpacksixbbl.homestead.com/halloffame.html

Bob is a first class guy, very helpful and polite and to me the term "mopar guy" to the core. Excellent post

blue

How about some info on where to get one of his cams if they are available?

Bob is one of the best guy's you'd ever want to meet in this hobby! But he races in Pure stock which is a lot tougher then FAST rule and with those #'s he truley is the man!

I have talked to Bob several times - I had a 69 gtx that was an A32 car that was going to get his cam but I sold that project and got into 67 chargers.

I talked to Bob in depth about his cam and the 67 440 hp motors and he really helped me out - my 440 auto car is going to get one of his cam's this summer and I am buying a cam for my 4 spd. car when I do it - I am seriously thinking about doing some pure stock racing with it.

He's just one of those people you don't run across very often and a mopar guy to boot

Thanks for the comments 383.

blue

Bob is my Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World!
His E-mail mr6pk@hotmail.com
He'll hook you up with a cam!
KIDSIXPACK
www.sixpacksuperbee.homestead.com

I just found this two-year old moparts.com thread from a general yahoo search. This was before I even knew moparts.com existed and was a member.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...part=1&vc=1

It's amazing to me that Bob K. of Mr.6pack Racing Engines has been, as it would seem to me, just under the surface of the Mopar world, getting notability primarily by word of mouth and the occasional magazine article. And although I haven’t been into Mopars as long as some, it's still has been about fourteen years for me, and I've never came across Bob K. cams. Of course I probably wasn't looking. All I ever see in the magazines is Comp Cams, Comp Cams, Comp Cams.

Sometimes I wonder if the world of Mopar can be equated to the Internet, the research goes on, and on, and on forever...

BTW, I’m strongly thinking about renting a U-Haul and moving out to Detroit. The people there are too cool!

Thanks for sharing your story with us. Bob truly is a great guy.
While attending one of the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Races with my buddy Tom's '68 Hemi Road Runner, Tom introduced me to Bob K. Tom mentioned to Bob that I was working on a '69 6BBL 4-speed Road Runner that would eventually compete at the Pure Stock Drags. He gave me a few tips, then we left. The next time I saw Bob he said, "hey Dave, how's that Road Runner doing?". I couldn't believe he even remembered my car, much less my name.
My winter project is installing one of his cams that I bought a few months ago. It will be interesting with a 4-speed.
A best of 13.30 at 106MPH with the Mopar cam is a good baseline. We'll see how it does with Bob's cam at the Factory Stock race in Martin Michigan in June.
Dave

I had some experience with Bob.. I met Bob at martin 06 at the pure stock/f.a.s.t. race, there where about eight a12s running and mine being the slowest 13.20s in the heat.. I went over and introduced my self and said man whats the secret all these six packs are running real good 12.70s to 20.s.. His reply was what are you running I told him the green a12 and he said that's a nice car I was going to check it out let's go.. This guy stopped what he was doing walked a couple hundred yards to my car asked questions and gave suggestions.. I heard so much about Bob he's a legend and here he is walking with me like he knew me for years.. Well with his tips we got the car running a tenth better that weekend. I proceeded to stay in touch with Bob and started talking about an engine for my car since I was hooked with drag racing now and wanted to go faster.. So Feb 07 an engine went in the works Bob would call weekly to update and just stay in touch. Normally his engines take about six month depending how busy he is but he got mine done in four because he wanted the car to be in martin..
Well I receive my new engine intake to pan we do the swap (no dyno time) run it for twenty minutes
change the oil take it around the block and man I hit it holy sh!!.. The guy knows how to make them run..

Bob is a true asset to this hobby and a good friend..

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Best ET [Email]11.76@116.45[/Email][/Email] 1.75 60FT

Quick times and fantastic short time. FAST class I presume?

would his cam also be good for a 383 four barrel?

Does he do cams for other applications?

I'm wondering what cam to put in a stroked 360 with efi six pak that's going in a street driven challenger.

Tav

Nice combo indeed. I am in the slow process of building my car for Pure stock. I have one of Bob's cams. I have a replacement short block and a replacement block plus regular 440 blocks. I am not sure which one to build, although I am leaning towards the replacement short block with assembly date but no VIN numbers. I am hoping for mid 12's, but who knows. I am racing a 14" tired car now, the G70's should be a real trip to learn all over again. I have 100's of street races behind me, but none in my A12 since 1974-76.

I sent an email to the Mr6pk address about his cams but no reply just yet. Does anyone have the specs for the 4 spd cam? Just curious how it compares to my VooDoo that's in there now.

Don't ask, he won't tell you. It really went against my nature to go with something I couldn't quantify/compare, but the results and service speak for themselves. I can't wait to get mine fired up.

Yep. You're right. I just got a reply back (within an hour on a Sunday afternoon no less) . That's fine and I think I will go with it but I'll call him and discuss it first. I just want to be sure that it is going to be as good or hopefully better for my combo than the cam I have now.