Cams / Converters

[Hanover Mopar]

I have 63 / 330 with the following setup.

1969 440 block – 30 Over
1963 Max Wedge Heads
Ross pistons
Eagle H-Beam rods
Ultradine cam .613/.309 (Duration at .050” = 276)
M-1 (Mopar) intake, 950 Holly Double Pumper
MSD distributor with 6 AL / 2 Step
727 pushbutton w/slip yoke A&A manual valve body
PTC 4500 Stall Converter
Dana 60 with 4:56 gears, hardened axles,
Split mono-leaf Calvert Racing springs with Cal-Tracs.
Holley electric fuel pump

I’m going to retire and want to drive this car more often than do now so I would like to tame this setup down a little. I know I’m supposed to match converter to cam but if I install a milder cam and do not change the converter to say about 2500 to match a new cam am I risking damaging the transmission.

Thanks in advance
Jack

 

[moparnation74]

Are you changing the ring gear ratio?

As far as the converter goes, no it wont damage the tranny but the new cam powerband(sweet spot) will be an issue with the 4500 stall...

So cruising around will be fine but performance will not be the same

 

[67 coronet]

i run 456 gears on a spool
590 flat tappet purple shaft
and a 3800 art car conv
on the street.its pretty wild for the street but can be surprisingly mild when treated as such.
depends on your final goal with the car.long dist cruiser or just around town hotrod.
be carefull on that conv stall speed,if you go too low you will loose drivability with that carb and intake setup.

 

[HT413]

if this is a pump gas motor, a shorter duration cam may change that. Just a thought.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

i run 456 gears on a spool
590 flat tappet purple shaft
and a 3800 art car conv
on the street.its pretty wild for the street but can be surprisingly mild when treated as such.
depends on your final goal with the car.long dist cruiser or just around town hotrod.
be carefull on that conv stall speed,if you go too low you will loose drivability with that carb and intake setup.

"surprisingly mild"........ I'm spinning 4000 rpm on the highway with 3.91's.... what's your highway cruising rpm, 4700? I'd be afraid I'd puke a piston. I'm planning on putting 3.23's or lower in mine so I can drive it (no overdrive) on the highway and actually leave town with the car.

You might want to consider swapping the motor, gears & torque converter to make a street car out of it.

 

[Hanover Mopar]

Will have to change gears also. No overdrive for a pushbutton 727 that I can find on the market

 

[66Satellite47]

Well like everyone has said, lower gear, maybe 373, a tighter converter would help. The cam may still work OK with a lower gear & tighter converter.

 

[rumblefish360]

The first problem is;
"Ultradine cam .613/.309 (Durationat .050” = 276)"

The matching converter is a bit much as well. The gear ratio is liveable.
Cut 30* of duration out of that cam and correct the converter stall. You could drop the gear ratio then if you wanted.

 

[Tempest 455]

To the OP.

I have a Pro Street car that has same gear (however very tall tire) and similar effective duration at .050". My car has a very tight 10" converter that stalls around 3,000 RPM. It's pretty streetable but I would not go much lower stall than that with the cam.

 

[Hanover Mopar]

The matching converter is a bit much as well. The gear ratio is liveable.
Cut 30* of duration out of that cam and correct the converter stall. You could drop the gear ratio then if you wanted.

Thanks, that's pretty much the direction I was thinking of going. It is a very aggresive cam for the street.

 

[66Satellite47]

When I bought my '66 Satellite it had a 10" Turbo Action tight converter. Was just fine on the street, even with new Victor intake and old 585 310 cam.

 

[Budnicks]

Depends on what you feel is "street-able"
some of US will tolerate a bunch more than others...LOL

but like most have said a little less duration on the cam
IMO lift other than wearing out springs faster aren't the real problem
&
a bit higher/lower numerically gears like 3.91:1 or 3.73:1 is a good compromise
&/or taller tires @ a min, than a bit less converter

a bit less converter, will have less chances of building heat in the trans,
less heat in the engine probably too, both may live a bit longer,
not or less slip so much before hi-gear, better fuel economy too
you can have yours reworked

{I ran a 3800 stall 175-k reworked Mopar Performance converter, with
3.91:1 & later 3.73:1 gears, with no real issues, it'd flash to 4200 with slicks}
it ran high 9's @ 135 too, I drove it for about 12k miles around Sac. Valley
before I sold it, it's till running around that area too, just freshened up...

all the above will be a bit more "tolerable on the street"
like I said depends on your tolerance levels too,
I personally like a bit of a beast on the street,
a bit loud, a bit of a rough idle, a bit ill tempered/obnoxious,
IMO that's what these type cars are made for,
pissing everyone else off, he he ha ha, especially modified/day 2...

If not, than you might as well have a mild mannered cruiser,
little bump-t-bump cam, 11" converter, 750cfm carb & 3.55:1 gears
if you don't want that other aspect...

Now if you want to drive across state or do the power tour,
change cam & valve springs, gears & converter to something much milder
for the purpose of cruising/hwy driving {pro-Touring} & not a street beast
anymore, IMO it'd still preform well, just not as well...

If you just want to use for around town, then occasional Hwy bursts
or going to get ice cream & occasional show or occasional strip run
on the weekends etc., gears & converter, some carb/ignition tuning etc.
would suffice for an occasional street beast around town IMO...

good luck with your decissions

 

[Hanover Mopar]

Thanks all.

Maybe the easiest way is just to convert to a 5 or 6 speed manual. It's the only thing I didn't get that I wanted on this car it and will fix rear gears and converter issue immediately.

Just need to steal $10,000 from Momma for a Silver Sport conversion.

 

[lewtot184]

i use a solid cam, 238@.050", with a stock street hemi converter and a 3.23 gear with 28" tall tires. fairly good compromise for all around driving and low maintenance.

 

[Hanover Mopar]

Your thoughts on dropping in a Mopar 528 purple cam and lifters in this to see how the motor and transmission like it. Should I replace the springs also. Comp cams said I should because the heavy existing springs in it might flatten the cam but I'm not sure I'm buying that.

 

[PRND21]

Depends on what you feel is "street-able"
some of US will tolerate a bunch more than others...LOL

but like most have said a little less duration on the cam
IMO lift other than wearing out springs faster aren't the real problem
&
a bit higher/lower numerically gears like 3.91:1 or 3.73:1 is a good compromise
&/or taller tires @ a min, than a bit less converter

a bit less converter, will have less chances of building heat in the trans,
less heat in the engine probably too, both may live a bit longer,
not or less slip so much before hi-gear, better fuel economy too
you can have yours reworked

{I ran a 3800 stall 175-k reworked Mopar Performance converter, with
3.91:1 & later 3.73:1 gears, with no real issues, it'd flash to 4200 with slicks}
it ran high 9's @ 135 too, I drove it for about 12k miles around Sac. Valley
before I sold it, it's till running around that area too, just freshened up...

all the above will be a bit more "tolerable on the street"
like I said depends on your tolerance levels too,
I personally like a bit of a beast on the street,
a bit loud, a bit of a rough idle, a bit ill tempered/obnoxious,
IMO that's what these type cars are made for,
pissing everyone else off, he he ha ha, especially modified/day 2...

If not, than you might as well have a mild mannered cruiser,
little bump-t-bump cam, 11" converter, 750cfm carb & 3.55:1 gears
if you don't want that other aspect...

Now if you want to drive across state or do the power tour,
change cam & valve springs, gears & converter to something much milder
for the purpose of cruising/hwy driving {pro-Touring} & not a street beast
anymore, IMO it'd still preform well, just not as well...

If you just want to use for around town, then occasional Hwy bursts
or going to get ice cream & occasional show or occasional strip run
on the weekends etc., gears & converter, some carb/ignition tuning etc.
would suffice for an occasional street beast around town IMO...

good luck with your decissions

X2 All comes down to how much you plan on driving and what you're willing to tolerate.

 

[PRND21]

Thanks all.

Maybe the easiest way is just to convert to a 5 or 6 speed manual. It's the only thing I didn't get that I wanted on this car it and will fix rear gears and converter issue immediately.

Just need to steal $10,000 from Momma for a Silver Sport conversion.

Not as easy as they say it is, I've done it. Not overly complicated, but some farbrication is required even with the kits that are available. 62-65 trans tunnel is fairly tight. 65 Belvedere, B eng, Tremec TKO600

 

[lewtot184]

Your thoughts on dropping in a Mopar 528 purple cam and lifters in this to see how the motor and transmission like it. Should I replace the springs also. Comp cams said I should because the heavy existing springs in it might flatten the cam but I'm not sure I'm buying that.

the 284/.528 is a good street cam. it's a little more cam than what i'm running. doesn't need a dual spring. they're fairly noisey lashed at .028"/.032". the cam i use is fairly quiet when lashed at the recommended .018"/.020". 4500 converter and 4.56 gears are way over kill for the .528" cam.

 

[Hanover Mopar]

Even Silver Silver Sport said the manual conversion is "Very Evasive" so that should a warning.

 

[Hanover Mopar]

the 284/.528 is a good street cam. it's a little more cam than what i'm running. doesn't need a dual spring. they're fairly noisey lashed at .028"/.032". the cam i use is fairly quiet when lashed at the recommended .018"/.020". 4500 converter and 4.56 gears are way over kill for the .528" cam.

New converter and gears coming. What cam do you run lewtot184