Camshaft/Lifter advice(BTDT?); Street 289

5 speeds

Doc: Just a note wrt Bill M and conversion trans. I think the price suggested was reasonable for a whole new piece, simply my original idea was no spend there at all, so anything >$1000 seemed high. But, I'd bet its within 25-30% of the other options you list. If I were going that route I'd be on my list to vet.

Wag: Thanks for explaining the toploader option; I'd think that dollar range could be managed and would keep with the ol skool thought too. If the rods were strengthened (11/32 bolts), what would be the next typical failure mode for >5k? (Mains, i.e. hipo caps bolts...)

Thanks guys,
DD
 
Way to many options!!!!!
Need to keep it simple if you want to enjoy the car. A friend of mine went through all this parts changing and when it was all over he was so pissed about how it ran he sold it.
My car is outside the box but I've had it 42 yrs now and have some really good young guys
that help me get through all the computer stuff and a couple of older guys with doing all the fab work for the Turbo set up.
So my advice would be to set down and really think about what you really want to do with the car.
 
2-1/2 Cents

Don't overthink the project. The basic cat will turn your knuckles white with mild modifications.
 
DD (CA) said:
Wag: Thanks for explaining the toploader option; I'd think that dollar range could be managed and would keep with the ol skool thought too. If the rods were strengthened (11/32 bolts), what would be the next typical failure mode for >5k? (Mains, i.e. hipo caps bolts...)
DD
Click to expand...
The rods really need to be of the high performance forged steel variety with the larger bolts. You will NEED to have the engine balanced if you install these rods.
The next most likely failure would be dropping a valve. If you intend to build an engine that you will regularly take upto/into the 6000 RPM range you will need stainless steel valves and you will need to have dual valve springs fitted. Then you will also need a roller cam, roller rockers, and a single plane manifold.
I would not go this route if I were you. I agree with oneoffive. I would build the engine to provide strong, reliable, and economical performance up to 5000 RPMs, and set your rev limiter there. You should be able to get into a reliable and economical 250hp to 260hp range if you carefully choose/match your components and tune it correctly. You won't have to spend a small fortune to get there and you shouldn't be disappointed with the car's performance at this horsepower level (unless you are Duke :)). Any more horsepower than this won't do you very much good anyway because you will have to do a lot of work to the chassis to get the car to hook-up.
Notice that I mention "economical" a lot? If you build the engine to produce massive horsepower there will be a high price to pay at the gas pump. Also, I should point out that the Tiger only holds a little over 10 gallons of gas. If you want to regularly drive/use the car, having to fill-up every 100 to 120 miles or so can be VERY annoying (not to mention expensive)! I have been working on fine tuning my car for gas mileage and I am now able to get in the 22-23mpg range on the highway. I like this.
 
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wag123 said:
The rods really need to be of the high performance forged steel variety with the larger bolts. You will NEED to have the engine balanced if you install these rods.
The next most likely failure would be dropping a valve. If you intend to build an engine that you will regularly take upto/into the 6000 RPM range you will need stainless steel valves and you will need to have dual valve springs fitted. Then you will also need a roller cam, roller rockers, and a single plane manifold.
I would not go this route if I were you. I agree with oneoffive. I would build the engine to provide strong, reliable, and economical performance up to 5000 RPMs, and set your rev limiter there. You should be able to get into a reliable and economical 250hp to 260hp range if you carefully choose/match your components and tune it correctly. You won't have to spend a small fortune to get there and you shouldn't be disappointed with the car's performance at this horsepower level (unless you are Duke :)). Any more horsepower than this won't do you very much good anyway because you will have to do a lot of work to the chassis to get the car to hook-up.
Notice that I mention "economical" a lot? If you build the engine to produce massive horsepower there will be a high price to pay at the gas pump. Also, I should point out that the Tiger only holds 10 gallons of gas. If you want to regularly drive/use the car, having to fill-up every 100 to 120 miles can be VERY annoying! I have been working on fine tuning my car for gas mileage and I am now able to get in the 22-23mpg range on the highway. I like this.
Click to expand...

Lots of good advice...except the Tiger holds around 13 gallons of gas.
 
hottigr said:
Lots of good advice...except the Tiger holds around 13 gallons of gas.
Click to expand...
Not unless you fill it up to the filler neck and let the car run out of gas before refueling. I can't fill mine up this full because a little fuel will dribble out of the vent in the cap and onto my paint on hard left turns.
 
camshaft advice

DD (CA) said:
Doc: Just a note wrt Bill M and conversion trans. I think the price suggested was reasonable for a whole new piece, simply my original idea was no spend there at all, so anything >$1000 seemed high. But, I'd bet its within 25-30% of the other options you list. If I were going that route I'd be on my list to vet.

Wag: Thanks for explaining the toploader option; I'd think that dollar range could be managed and would keep with the ol skool thought too. If the rods were strengthened (11/32 bolts), what would be the next typical failure mode for >5k? (Mains, i.e. hipo caps bolts...)

Thanks guys,
DD
Click to expand...

You don't need aftermarket forged rods, steel maincaps, or bigger rod bolts. The 5.0 Liter mustang guys hammer the hell out of their small blocks without bottom end breakage using stock bottom ends. I would suggest ARP rod bolts to replace the 50 year old bolts for insurance. Metalurgy has progressed substantially in 50 years.
As for valve train breakage, you are not going to break anything with an occasional burst to 5500 with quality stock parts.
 
If your not afraid to go out side of the box you can update to a fuel injection set up and not worry about it getting hot and not starting and the garage smelling like gas.
If I really keep my foot out of it I can get 17-19 MPG and its a great feeling to have 700rwhp at the stab of the loud peddle.
New technology is great even for us old guys :)
 
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