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Tech Question
Quint Baxter, Oregon City, OR, 1976 Plymouth Duster 440
I have two questions.
First is: The guy who built the car
dropped a 440 in an original slant six car without changing the suspension
and the engine has a 7 quart oil pan. I don't like how low the pan rides
because I don't like bottoming it out when I'm cruising. I was going to
crank the torsion bars up but I need to know if I need to have the front end
re-aligned if I do so?
My second question is cam related. The cam in the
engine now sucks so I'm switching to a .509" hyd. Mopar cam. I've only done
a cam install on one engine and I never tried to run it so I don't know how
I did. I need to know what's the worst that can happen from a bad cam
install? Will it just wear the cam prematurely or can I cause some serious
damage?
Please let me know and thanks for your help!
Quint, hopefully, you already know that the suspension in your car is grossly overwhelmed by the big block - to the point of being dangerous. But, to answer your first query directly: Yes, any change in front suspension ride height requires a realignment.
Now, on to the bumpstick. A "bad cam install" covers a lot of ground. If there's valve spring coil bind or some other major catastrophe, sure, you can cause some serious damage. Ditto having the cam timing way out - expect the pistons to have some heavy-duty conflicts with the valves.
Improper break-in (i.e., long cranking or periods of idling for the first 20-30 minutes) can wipe lobes right away, or, best case, reduce durability.
The simple fix: Just do it right.
Rick
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