Engine question from the new guy.

[hunterstroble]

Hi,  Just signed up.  I have a 73 challenger 3600 lbs.  3.91 gears, 3600 stall converter.  Going to use my dads old engine.  One season on it.  It's a 440, aluminum eddy heads cnc ported, 11.1 comp, m1 single plain intake.  My question is it has a .590 mopar solid cam.  I know if I was buying a new cam I'd go smaller, but budget is tight.  Will this cam fly if I advance it a little.  Dont race any more, just a street car.  Pulled the cage out so i'd get booted anyways.  Thanks all.

[Chryco Psycho]

I really dislike the 509 cam , yes it will work , it will take some creative carb tuning to make it idle well & get enough vacuum for power brakes . The cam design is about 35 years old there are better profiles out now when you can afford to swap

[hunterstroble]

It is the .590 lift purple cam, not the .509.  .590 lift, 312 duration if think.  I have manual brakes so no issue there.  My dad had the engine in his dart with that .590 in it.  The dart has the same stall converter,4.10 gears and weighs 3400 lbs.  It ran like a raped ape.   But he did the stroker route with indy heads so free engine for me.  I know it is alot of cam, but not spending 4-500 dollars for a new one is enticing.

[HP2]

I had a similar profile cam in a small block. No way I'd want to run it on the street. But, the extra 80 cubic inches may help mellow it out some. Expect the overlap to make for a smelly idle and the idle speed will need to be fairly high to keep it from falling on its face. Certainly not ideal, but if that's what  you have now, you may have to live with it for a while. With an 11:1 squeeze, you are going to need to be particularly choosy with cam selection in the future. I'd definetly recommend some time on the phone with a cam rep.

[Chryco Psycho]

Sorry dislecsic [sp] I guess 
 I ran the 590 , I liked it ..... power from 3000 past 7000
 Tough to idle it though , I had to really tweak the carb ,  restricting the idle bleeds in the carb , drill the throttle plates ,  install 1" power valves  & idle around 1100 to make it work . but I drove it on the street a lot !!

[hunterstroble]

Thanks, i'll throw the engine in like it sits then.