How will a 86 cam help?

[SVOsocool]

I am finally going up to pick up my 85 SVO in two weeks. The owner told me that the engine has been balanced and blueprinted when it was rebuilt. He tried to keep it mostly stock, but did say he put an 86 cam in it. I'm new to SVO's so how much will the cam help out? I know there are several differences with the 86's that make them more powerful, but by itself, what kind of hp increase would just the cam get? Also, there is a xr4ti nearby in bad shape and also a girl I work with has a 79 turbo mustang that is sitting in a field that I could probably get for nothing. What parts could be used to get better numbers? I assume the 79 will not give me any performance increases, but I thought I could use some of the parts as backups as some parts are getting harder to find. Thanks for your help.

[svobud]

86 Cam - it'll push your powerband a wee bit more towards the top end of the rpms. Personally - I find it a waste of someone's time to install this factory cam in a early 85. If you're wanting the benefits from a cam ...then spend some money and get something decent.

As for scrounging on that 79 and XR4...waste of time. Nothing on them worth much - unless the XR4 has brown top injectors (35#). Your 85 has green top injectors (30#). It'll take more than just swaping them out to benefit from them - you'll have top find a suitable computer or have your computer hooked to a EEC tuner.

If you want some extra HP without much effort or expense....then buy/install: 1. K&N cone filter (remove factory air box). 2. replace the factory BCS with an adjustable boost valve. 3. install a 3" DP.

[SVOsocool]

HP?

OK, if I do the three things you mention, how many ponies do you think I might pick up. Also, how much would that cost(minus the K&N filter, I know how much they are)? Eventually I would like to pick up another one for trying out at the track, I don't want to risk the Dark Sage paint since it is the rarest color of the SVO's, so I am not too concerned about making this one a screamer. Of course I still want to feel the rush of power when I want or need it so I will probably try the three things you mentioned first if the performance benefits outweigh the costs. A few years from now and I will be able to afford a few more upgrades for some serious power. Thanks for the help.

[TurboMopar]

I'm curious. Does the 2.3 have any real gains with aftermarket cams with high boost? 2.2 Chryslers have been proven to make as much power with stock roller cams as they do with the aftermarket and Mopar Performance cams.

[svobud]

SVOsocool - I picked up 17rwhp and 24rwtq on 17lbs of boost with basicly those exact minor add ons. The only exceptions to that list would be a 86 exhaust manifold (unported), 255lph fuel pump/fpr, and an Alum Flywheel.

Here's links for manual adjustable boost valve that many users of this forum use. http://www.boostvalve.com - http://www.turborepair.com/pages/sbc.html - remember though, you get what you pay for...

A quality Downpipe will cost in the neighborhood of $125-150. They're not all created equal - and fitment is a big issue in most cases (ie: some hang too low and cause clearance probs). The rest of the exhaust can be fabricated or you deal only having a small fab job done when you use a left side only cat back. Call Paul at SVPU and talk to him about an exhaust set up. He's a MAC dealer. 205.629.3126

TurboMaGraw - yes, an aftermarket cam will definitely produce HP gains over a stock cam (with the right combination of parts) on a 2.3. Stock cams are flat tappet - most people want to convert to a roller cam. Max HP is usually limited just below the 300hp mark with a stock cam....stock cams will fall on their face before the 6k rpm line.

[TurboMopar]

Originally posted by svobud
TurboMaGraw

Funny!

Originally posted by svobud
yes, an aftermarket cam will definitely produce HP gains over a stock cam (with the right combination of parts) on a 2.3. Stock cams are flat tappet - most people want to convert to a roller cam. Max HP is usually limited just below the 300hp mark with a stock cam....stock cams will fall on their face before the 6k rpm line.

I find it interesting how the aftermarket cams work well with the Ford 2.3 and don't do so well with the Chrysler 2.2. It may have something to do with the Chrysler head being non-cross flow.

A lot of 2.2 turbo guys have swapped out their factory roller cams to some of the aftermarket cams. They have gained some horsepower under 18 psi. When they go over 18 psi, there seems to be no difference in the aftermarket cams and the stock cams. In fact, the two fastest turbo Chryslers are running stock roller cams. Since I'm going to run over 18 psi, I'm going to save my money and use my $10 junkyard roller cam to replace my factory slider cam.