Good cam for my 383??

[Donniejr81]

Im in the process of gathering all the parts I need to freshen up the 383 in my 71 Charger. Its a 2bbl engine. My plans for the Charger is daily driver so I need to keep it pump gas and highway friendly. The car is 727 auto with 2.76 rearend. As it is now, the motor sounds awesome...tight and no smoke or pecks...just leaks oil like theres no tomorrow.

So far, Im definitely changing it to a Holley 600 4bbl and dual plane intake. It has HP manifolds so I'll probably leave them, just get a good flowing dual exhaust. I had pondered upgrading the cam, but not sure as to which one would work with my rear gear. 383HP cam? Leave stock one in there? Aftermarket? Which one seems to work best for you all? Thanks.

 

[YY1]

I liked the MP 284/484 in my 70 383 with 3.55 rear, stock converter, Torker intake and 600-650 "franken-holley".
It was a daily driver and I ran 89 octane during the week and 93 on Friday night.
It was a good combo that let people know it wasn't stock, and made more power, but didn't shift the power too far up in the RPM range, and was quite streetable.
Might be a totally different experience with your gear, though.
Today, I'd probably go with a more modern split profile, that had similar characteristics.

 

[Meep-Meep]

If you are not going into the engine to change pistons, etc... Then your cam choices are very limited. 71 383 is a low compression engine so you must use a cam that is specifically designed for that application. Edelbrock has a nice cam for that application as well as other major cam manufacturers. 600 CFM (vac secondary Holley or AFB) and a dual plane intake will be on target for what you want. Make sure you have/get a street carb and not the race oriented model. The metering system on street carbs is much better for drivability. The proper advance curve is very important in getting the most out of your combo. Initial timing should be around 12 BTC and have 38 deg total all in by around 3 KRPM. Vac advance hooked to the ported port on the carb should add about 8 deg while cruising on the HWY under very light load.
HP manifolds are fine and I'd run a 2.5" dual system with 2.25" tails. If you want more low end pep go with a 3.23 or even a 2.94 gear set. On a big car like that you can go 3.23 with a tall tire to fill the well and that will bring your effective gear ratio closer to 3.0.

 

[cr8crshr]

Try the Hughes 2328 cam. I use them in all my 383 builds....

 

[Donniejr81]

Thanks for all the input. I was doing some scratching around and we think we're going to go with the Edelbrock Performer cam. With our low compression and highway gears, it seems like itd give us the most usable torque.

We're going to top it off with an Offenhauser dual plane intake and 600 vacuum secondary street Holley. Then going to run dual 2 1/4 exhaust with an X-pipe (have a couple of those stashed away)...still undecided on mufflers yet. Sara likes glasspacks and I like Dynomax Super Turbos....

 

[Meep-Meep]

I ran super turbos on my 68 RR and they seemed OK.

 

[waygun]

I am running a Comp cams 268 duration cam in my 68 Newport barge.
Part #21-215-4
I chose it since my car is heavy and still wanted it to have an edge.
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=699&sb=2

Great torque band,some bark,and still be able to use stock pistons,torque convertor,etc.
Best to run a 750 cfm carb,2-1/2 inch dual exhaust and 3.23 gears.
A 2200-2500 stall will wake it up even more.
I agree that the Dynomax Super Turbos sound great and have that true Mopar sound.:headbang:
40 series Flowmasters make you car sound like a Chebbie Cramaro or 5.0 Mustwang,LOL!! :evil7:
Hope this helps.