I give up

b-body-bob

b-body-bob

Well-known member
Today was my last try at getting my Dart to run right with that .509 cam in it. Didn't work, so screw it, I'm putting a milder cam in it.

Anybody wanna suggest a good cam/lifter combo for a 273 HP? Right now I'm thinking about a Summit kit, at least the price is right. I just want to be able to start the thing and drive it around.
 
The best thing you can do is call a few cam manufactures and tell them everything you can about your engine combo, what your car weighs, what gear in the diff, carb, auto or stick, and most important , what you intend to do with the car.

No one can recommend a cam better than the people who build them. That’s there business. If they didn't know what they were doing they wouldn’t be around long. Call a few manufactures and compare there recommendations before you choose one. Make your decision from there. Good luck.
 
69.5CUDA said:
a 509 in a 273....cool ...wonder how it would work in a 69 318
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I doubt that it would work for shit - it sure didn't in this 273, and it's even one of the 10.5:1 HP motors.

Stretch said:
The best thing you can do is call a few cam manufactures and tell them everything you can about your engine combo, what your car weighs, what gear in the diff, carb, auto or stick, and most important , what you intend to do with the car.
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That's a little bit of overkill for what I've got here - it's a stock car and I'm gonna drive it around at the speed limit. No need to involve the race team on this one. :)

Probably what I should've asked is has anyone used either of the two small block cams that Summit sells under their own brand name?
 
A stock 340 cam makes a 273-4v sing nicely... hell, the .509 is overkill in an otherwise-stock 340HP.
 
This Summit 6901 Cam is pretty close to what I've found listed as a factory 340 grind.

It's budget priced too, which at this point is more important than high performance. It's just a 273 after all - I'll never understand how anyone thought a 509 cam was a good idea.
 
The RPM range listed on that cam sounds about right... for a 360. :D

It should work well in the 273, but at a little higher RPM. Another one that looks like a winner for your engine is the Edelbrock Performer 2177, which doesn't have as much lift or duration as the Summit part. I think that would be a big plus on your smallest of small-blocks. If you're looking for a little more than that, the Crane Powermax 260-2 looks pretty good, too...

Both are obviously pricier, but my one experience with a Summit camshaft (they're actually made by Super Stock Industries, a.k.a. SSI) was not a positive one. The Summit cam I put in my 440 didn't make it to 9,000 miles before it was wiped--with only slightly-stiffer-than-stock valvesprings. I guess you get what you pay for... 'sup to you.
 
Valve seat pressure is a question, they've been changed for that .509 cam.

I noticed the RPM range was a bit low with that Summit cam.
 
Bob ,I've built several daily driver,318 and 360's with the old summit 214/214 cam,it's the higher lift of the 2,it's made by SSI,same stuff that PAW sells,they work fine,with their cheapy lifters, and in stock engines with an aftermarket or stock 4bbl. setup,,,I don't think you can advance the timing enough on a 273/318 to run a purpleshaft 508,,the 509 in a 383 needs 6-7* advanced mechanically to run strong and idle properly,,,
 
b-body-bob said:
I noticed the RPM range was a bit low with that Summit cam.
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Well, yeah... but they're thinking 318/360. Best-case scenario, you're a considerable 45 cubic inches short of that mark.The smaller cubes should make power higher up than a 318 with the same cam... like 69x9x9 said, the .509" cam needs some tinkering to work well in a 383, yet it works fine straight up in a 440. But, along with the small cubes, don't forget the miserable flow of those closed-chamber early LA heads. You can lift the valves to the moon, but it still won't suck a golf ball through a garden hose.
 
Over the years the best bang for the buk has been Elgin for me.Never had one wipe and they all still run strong from SB chevs to the one I put in a 5.2 magnum this last summer. Not real wild just a decent bump stick in their R/V grind.I would go back to stock springs to be safe. [smilie=d:
 
I would suggest the Edlebrock Performer cam. I put one in a stockish small block a few years ago, and it worked GREAT!
 
Dr.Jass said:
b-body-bob said:
But, along with the small cubes, don't forget the miserable flow of those closed-chamber early LA heads. You can lift the valves to the moon, but it still won't suck a golf ball through a garden hose.
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The only carb I ever got that carb to start/idle/run with had a sucking chestwound of a vac leak around the throttle shafts. IIRC, the timing's set at 15 initial, a recipe for disaster. Was thinking about locking out the timing if I ever got it to run right with a good carb, but I never did.

Now I'm looking at it and thinking you know, we could be driving that thing around and getting good gas mileage too.
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