68Nwprt's Engine Build

commando1 said:
It was a mild built 44O.
After about 1,000 miles on it, I decided to stretch its legs.
Approaching 5,000 RPM, armedgedon time.
On teardown, the cam was in smithereens near the distributer drive.
Also the #1 con rod let go, twisted and jammed.
Produced some new water passages in the process which trashed the block.
The above are the facts.
Below are the theories.
I had heard and continually hear from guys (on line and in person) with 440s who installed new Comp Cams had cam failure in the first 1,000 miles.
We all compared break in procedure and all were done properly.
Also, in 3 builds, Comp Cams in all of them, valve train noise sounded like rocks crushing. Many people told me Comp Cams were very noisy because of there ramp angles or some crap like that.
The valve train noise was alarming to me but the old , That's normal for...
Well, ok....

Now, about the cin rod. I used the old con rod bolts. Did they let go, the con rod, twist up, jam the rotating train and snap the cam? I don't know. That is a plausible theory.
It is a chicken or the egg situation. Which caused what?

Bottom lime. I am never using comp cams again, at the very least because of their noise, reputation, and history, AND after that I always used ARP bolts.

There's eveyything. You can go from there.
Click to expand...

Thanks Stan, that's very interesting. Sorry to hear of your bad experience. That must have sucked. Shame you could not ID the root of the problem to gain some closure. Hopefully others will chime in and share thier experience with Comp Cams. Positive and negative. I like the direction this thread is moving.
 
I have used a Hughes engines cam in my 383 in my Challenger its okay, iI would go with them again but I would not use the "lumpy idle muscle car cam" I would just use around 230°@.050 and call it done. Or just use a Mopar Performance ,My 2 cents.
 
I used a Mopar purple HP resto cam in one 440 build and then a Mopar purple 280/280 duration, .474" lift cam in a second 440 build. Although I've built other engines, those are the only 2 440 engines that I've done. I was much happier with the .474 lift cam. It had power and pickup in a 1968 Dart. I sold the Dart. In retrospect, I probably could have taken the 440 out of the Dart and tried it in my 1970 Fury. Still, I felt like I could do better than the .474 cam motor, so I sold the Dart.
The HP resto cam was a total disappointment in my 69 Monaco. I ran an Edelbrock AFB 750 carb and an Edelbrock aluminum dual plane, 9:1 compression, with HP exhaust manifolds, and dual exhaust. Stock or upgraded ignition, regardless, the Monaco was a disappointment. I thought I'd have the perfect street combo, but not happening.
I did get excellent performance out of a Hughes cam in a 360 build. Maybe, I'll try Hughes again.
 
commando1 said:
It was a mild built 44O.
After about 1,000 miles on it, I decided to stretch its legs.
Approaching 5,000 RPM, armedgedon time.
On teardown, the cam was in smithereens near the distributer drive.
Also the #1 con rod let go, twisted and jammed.
Produced some new water passages in the process which trashed the block.
The above are the facts.
Below are the theories.
I had heard and continually hear from guys (on line and in person) with 440s who installed new Comp Cams had cam failure in the first 1,000 miles.
We all compared break in procedure and all were done properly.
Also, in 3 builds, Comp Cams in all of them, valve train noise sounded like rocks crushing. Many people told me Comp Cams were very noisy because of there ramp angles or some crap like that.
The valve train noise was alarming to me but the old , That's normal for...
Well, ok....

Now, about the cin rod. I used the old con rod bolts. Did they let go, the con rod, twist up, jam the rotating train and snap the cam? I don't know. That is a plausible theory.
It is a chicken or the egg situation. Which caused what?

Bottom lime. I am never using comp cams again, at the very least because of their noise, reputation, and history, AND after that I always used ARP bolts.

There's eveyything. You can go from there.
Click to expand...

I'm not feeling real warm, and fuzzy inside now. I went with pretty much all comp gear (timing chain, cam, springs, and rods)... Went with a real small cam for low end... Got me second guesing now. I've been second guessing the cam since I got it, wondering if I went too small. God knows when I'll know for sure.

70bigblockdodge said:
I have used a Hughes engines cam in my 383 in my Challenger its okay, iI would go with them again but I would not use the "lumpy idle muscle car cam" I would just use around 230°@.050 and call it done. Or just use a Mopar Performance ,My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that Dave?? Just curious.. Was thinking of that whiplash cam for the cordoba. Real low compression 400 pig. Sounded like a great cam for a low compression engine. Not too worried about sounding bad *** (although I wouldn't mind). There seems to be a lot of praise out there for em.

The valvetrain is a little noisy, and this gives me a reason to get a new cam, and all haha
 
I'am running a comp cam 268 high energy in my 440. Plenty of torque, lots of low end power. I love it. The fury engine was build in 2012.
I've also been running a comp cam 260 high energy in my trucks 360. I love that one also. The trucks engine was built is 2003.
 
I've used a lot of Comp stuff. It is far from junk, and while not popular to hear, the vast majority of failures and problems is due to the assembler not the product. I'm not saying they are infallible, but they are not trash. The last Comp I've used is a custom hydraulic with less than .540 lift making 480hp to the tire in a pump gas 496 through stock exhaust manifolds. The XE268 has made beyond 1hp per inch in a couple 383s I've used it in and I've not had a single complaint of noise or ticking. I run the XE262 in my truck and it's quiet and pulls like a freight train from idle to 4500.
 
It's not a bad cam has great vacuum, just doesn't work well in my Challenger. Car is light enough that it does not need all that low end grunt and my compression is in the 9s so keeping cylinder pressure is not a huge worry. I think I would have done better with one of their regular ground straight up cams that's all, I would buy another cam from them.
 
Quick update. Today I gave my crank shaft a bath. Now there's something you don't say everyday. Yesterday I finished cleaning the pistons and connecting rods, and cleaned the oil pan. Looks like someone tried to jack up the car by the oil pan. I hammered it back into place. next I will sand blast the outside to remove the rust, and give a coat of primer.
HPIM1128.jpg
HPIM1129.jpg

HPIM1128.jpg


HPIM1129.jpg
 
68Nwprt said:
Thanks. Just a thin film of wd40. I still need to polish the crank so trying to keep clean for now.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I was thinking I should spray down my exposed metal surfaces with WD40 or PB blaster or rub it down with motor oil. It's still on the stand
 
commando1 said:
I was chasing after you with the axe for the joke you made that was a real groaner.
Of which you deleted...
Click to expand...

Oh. Yeah I deleted it. I just decided it was the right thing to do, but I hadn't associated it as the reason you posted the hatchet man

Thanks for the clarification. Is that chasing thing something that is done for a post that is a "groan-er"? That one is new to me
 
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