53dodgekustom Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 Hey guys, I'm in the process of rebuilding my 230 this winter. It broke a piston ring over the summer so I decided it was time to go through the whole motor. I sent it to the shop and had the guy look everything over. The cranks gonna need ground, new bearings pistons ect. Basically a new bottom end. But he did say that the top end (valves, seats, springs and cam) looked really good and he was just gonna lap the valves. I told him I also wanted to shave the head. I do have some future plans to hop it up with an extra carb and a spit exhaust manifold. I was looking through the vintage power wagons site and saw that they offer a high performance cam and heavy duty valve springs for $300. I was wondering if anyone was running this cam and how well they liked it. I'm really not looking for a huge gain in performance (I know I won't get it lol.) but I think it would be cool to have a little lope at idle and the added hp. Is there any other avalible cams out there? Oh, and how much can I shave the head .070? Thanks. Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 What are the specs on the VPW cam? What is the cost? Unless you have plans on spinning your engine past five grand I dont think the heavy duty valve springs are required. But you should replace your original springs with new ones. I sent my camshaft to Earl Edgerton in California. He did a re-grind for about one hundred fifty bucks total with freight. I now have 260 degrees duration @.410" lift for both intake and exhaust. I have a slight loap at slow idle and my engine runs great. Quote
53dodgekustom Posted January 13, 2009 Author Report Posted January 13, 2009 http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/pdf/parts/01engine.pdf Hmmm... it just says more lift and duration. I regrind might be the way to go. Thanks for the specs on yours, I know your car runs good. Quote
Suddensix Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 I have an Edgerton re-ground cam in my 218 with the same specs as Don's and so far so good. I replaced the valve springs with a new set of stock springs. As Don says unless you are really going to buzz the engine they are all that is required. Quote
Tony WestOZ Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 Does anyone have the valve opening and closing figures for the Edgy cams? Quote
laynrubber Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Would it be recommended to change the valve springs during a rebuild ? Also how much to shave off the head ?? Quote
No Bux Rod Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Earl Edgerton has 3 or 4 cam grinds for Mopar flatheads. His e-mail address is -- edgerton@pacbell.net --. If you find a '57-'59 230 head you will have a CR of 8:1 before milling. While a '55/'56 head is around 7.4:1 N B R Quote
53dodgekustom Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Posted January 14, 2009 Mine is a 53 model so its the low compression version. The edgatron guy sounds like the guy to go to. I will be replacing my valve springs with stock ones, I don't plan on ever really going much past 4k. Thanks! Quote
Fluid drive Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 It is always a good idea to have the valve springs tested if you use the old ones . They have a habit of going soft-especially in truck engines that have been run harder and hotter. I always have my cams ground for higher lift. There are several places that do that. One of them is Vintage machine works out in Washington state (going by memory) If you will remove the copper mesh and make a couple spacers so you can install a paper filter in the oil bath air breather element you will gain horsepower and increase the life of your engine too. Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 If you will remove the copper mesh and make a couple spacers so you can install a paper filter in the oil bath air breather element you will gain horsepower and increase the life of your engine too. How will this modification offer a gain in horsepower and increase the life of your engine? Do you have any numbers to prove this? Quote
Frank Elder Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Is the oil bath more restrictive than a paper element? Quote
Don Coatney Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Is the oil bath more restrictive than a paper element? I dont think so but I dont have any flow charts to prove it. Quote
Young Ed Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 I have heard the same thing before that switching to paper is worth a few HP but also have no proof. Quote
Jim Saraceno Posted January 15, 2009 Report Posted January 15, 2009 It seems in the past, some people have had restriction problems when changing over to paper. Wouldn't that imply less HP? Quote
Frank Elder Posted January 15, 2009 Report Posted January 15, 2009 Some have used spacers or gone to a taller or stacked filters to remedy this. Quote
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