1973dodger
Well-Known Member
I am nearing the end of project on my 1973 Charger and my wallet as well. I bought a replacement 440 race engine to install in my new project. While it is as advertised as the beast it is, it is not a particularly street friendly. I must admit it was not particularly the smartest move on my part and unfortunately speaks to my inexperience. Admittedly, my pride got the best of me in approaching this project in that I was trying to shut-up my "Chevy-loving-in-laws", which this engine will certainly do, but I would like for the engine to be more street-able. I will tell you all I know about engine and my purpose. My purpose for this car is to have good power, but used 95% on the street, and to de-tune this engine as inexpensively as possible. Known specs are as follows; Displacement- 440 honed and sq-blocked bored .30 over, crank balance 10/10, Ohio beam rods, Weisco flat top pistons, Mopar Performance aluminum heads milled .60 thousands and intake port matched to Victor single-plane intake manifold, Mopar performance valves and springs, compression is 10.9 to 1, MP purple shaft cam has .590 lift w/ 312 duration, Proform 750 racing DP carb, Felpro head gasket, Clevite bearings, Menzeire electric water pump, Summit SFI oiling system. Summit 1 7/8 ceramic headers w/ 3" exhaust. This a $10k engine with the millwork that I bought for less than half of that. My question is; can I get by with just a cam swap, if so, what would you suggest? Do I also have to go to a dual plane intake? Do I have to reduce the compression?