Alright,

So I've been saving up for a few months now, and I have a couple more to go before this all comes about(hopefully), but here's what I have been looking at:

These Heads:
http://www.hughesengines.com/partDet...901&eTypeID=10

This Cam:
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294838262

These Headers (says Dak and Durango but I know John has a set for 2wd rams):
http://www.southeastperformance.com/...ducts_id=10295


Now here's what I have questions about:
Firstly, am I missing anything obvious with the basic parts here? Is the set of heads/cam a bad match? Too much for the little 5.2L? I know I need new pushrods, springs, head gaskets, bolts, etc. I'll compile a full list later and you all can tell me what I'm missing.

2nd, can you use any of the hydraulic roller tappets with the cam? I mean, is there any reason to use the Crane roller tappets over new Mopar hydraulic roller tappets?

3rd, (and here's where I really start confusing myself) I thought I read that by using hydraulic roller tappets instead of flat solid tappets, you don't need to set valve lash. Is that correct? Does that mean I could recycle the 1.7 non-adjustable roller rockers I have, or do I need to buy 1.6 adjustable RR's and sell the 1.7's? I know the 1.7s will increase valve lift, but the heads should be able to handle .510in/.544ex, according to the Hughes chart, right?

4th, am I going to vac problems at 112* lobe separation? I'm not worried about 'puter problems, I can get Sean to fix that with the SCT, but he can't fix low vac that I'm aware of.

Lord, my wife won't stop talking to me, I can't concentrate. Please help.

 

It looks like a pretty decent combo to me. Cam looks like a good match for the heads as far as when the heads flow the most air.

I would definitely talk to the guys who are doing your pcm programming but 112 lobe separation should still give you a pretty smooth idle and the duration isn't crazy.

A lot of people choose a cam that's too big but I think this is a good choice with the stock pistons.

I would stay with stock ratio rocker arms as your cam choice looks to put the valve right near max flow.

I would use the lifters from the same manufacturer as the cam to avoid any possible warranty SNAFU

Whats the intended purpose of your truck when the engine is done?

I've never built a Hi-perf engine that was computer controlled but I think you're lookin' good

 

Wow. Squirrels, I've always looked at your truck modifications list as a good goal for me with mine, but I don't know if I can keep up with you now. I don't even have my SCT or higher gears yet.

Oh, and by the way, if you can't use your 1.7 RRs, I would be interested in purchasing them from you.

 

It'll be a while off maybe March if all goes well, I gotta get the parts and get some time to install it all. This won't be a simple weekend jobber. But you've got first dibs if you still want them by then, Jason.

rabbler,

I'm not looking for a drag monster, but a truck with all around more ***** than it currently has, and the potential to do a little more later if I want, like a stoker or supercharger. A "hot street" truck, if you will.

Actually, I'm really just trying to get my MPG's into the single digits.

 

Squirrels, are trying to get on Pinks, lol?

With the 2.02's and porting, I think those are the right heads if you want a "hot street" truck. Where are you on total mileage? With those heads, my first reaction might be to rebuild and balance the whole engine with forged pieces, etc., especially if supercharging.

I also think you're good on the long tube headers with 1-3/4 primaries. With that much flow, I wouldn't go with anything less than true duals.

However, your cam is actually milder than the one I got to go with my 1.92/1.62 heads. Look at your durations at .050" lift. Yours are 205/210 and mine are 208/214. Also, your lobe separation is 112 and mine is 114. I think you need to step up a notch on the cam. For example, here is what Hughes recommends for your level of performance: http://www.hughesengines.com/partDet...403&eTypeID=10

Also, I would ditch the kegger and kick the intake manifold and injectors up a notch. I hope Santa is kind to you this year!

 

LMAO Pinks! Why would I want to build it up just to give it away?

Actually, it's one of those things where you say, "Ok, if I do this, then I need to do this, this, and then this, to really benefit." So why not just save up, and order it all at once? Seems a lot easier to me to just tear it down once, than order some headers and throw a few tools snapping bolts off in the heads, tapping them out and then 3 months later swapping out new heads, and then waiting another 3 months a cam to maximize the other 2 things.

Total mileage on the engine is about 83K right now, I've thought about rebuilding the bottom end with a 390 stroker kit, which would take care of the bottom end.. but I can get a few more miles out of this one.

To be honest with you, this is totally at the planning stage right now, I have $1000 in the bank for it, but I have several real life priorities that I'll need to attend to first. I'm kinda waiting to see what happens to gas prices again, as I could easily drop this money on a down payment on a car to build up and still get better mileage as well.

I took the milder cam because I currently own 1.7 ratio roller rockers and I knew that the higher ratio bumps it up a bit more. I don't know if I can reuse them, I know most suggest you just go stock ratio, but I'm still trying to figure out why exactly that is. If one of the main benefit of hydraulic roller lifters is that they self adjust, then why by new adjustable RR's? I cnado the math and compensate for the ratioon a cam selection, if that's all it is. There's probably more to it, but I'll have to call before I order. I'm also thinking about going straight thru Hughes for all if it, so at least they'll be better about matching all the parts.

I ported the kegger open last March, I'll consult with Sean on how much I can get out of the stock injectors and if the keg's gotta go too. Those M1's are dang expensive for a hunk of aluminum.

 

If speed is what your after, you might be better off hot-rodding a car before a 6k pound truck. My truck is just that: daily driver, general hauler, RV trailer tower. I have another "project" in my garage I'm building for fun, that is, until my bank account got waylayed by this Dodge PU.

On the cam, the numbers you're looking for are duration at .050" tappet lift. This measuring point is used to equalize all manufacturer's cams for comparison. Read the excellent tech articles on the Hughes site for more info. Lift is important too, but not as much as duration. If you get a bigger cam with more lift, then I don't see the need to have the 1.7's anymore. Just more stress on the valve train that you don't need. 1.6's would probably be perfect for the 2.02 heads. I like hydraulic lifters for the street because they can absorb valvetrain shocks, self adjust, and they are quiet. Also with the rollers, you don't need to be concerned with ZDDP content in the oil like you do with flat tappets. I went with Hughes because they seem to know what they are talking about (smell test), and have spent the time to match their products to one another. One more thing about the rockers, and this is just personal opinion, but back in the day most old school engine builders eschewed the needle bearing roller rockers (at least for the street) as a waste of time because the factory rockers were tougher and more bullet proof (more bearing surface as opposed to all the valvetrain pressure spread over a few needles). I'm sure the technology and quality has changed over the years so I might be more willing to invest in them in the future. Yes, hydraulic lifters can be adjusted (pre-loaded) which is a good thing.

 

those are some crazy heads. I think I'm gonna end up going with the EQ Magnums. CCH sells them on ebay. They are the same as the normal Iron ram heads hughes sells port wise and with springs for 350

 

Yes, I have read thru those Hughes articles, they're in-depth without being stifling to the newbie, like me. I always take a resellers info with a grain of salt though as you just can't ever tell how much they push their own agenda. It's like Amsoil, I'm sure it's a good product, but they are damn sure agressive on their marketing, without a lot of independant websites to back up claims.

I figure the heads will be $1500 with gaskets, $700 for the cam, lifters, and 1.6 RR's if I send my old cam back to hughes, John's headers were $600+250 for the jet hot coating in Jan, $150 for various gaskets and bolts, damn, am I already at $3200? Then factor in another $3000 to fix the stock tranny I'll grenade doing this... maybe I should really rethink this

 

The cam and heads look like a good match, and since the cam is still decently small, you should be able to reuse your 1.7's, just make sure you have enough valve to piston clearance. A few things though, don't forget, the hughes heads don't have springs, so you'll need those, and you'll need a new timing set, and you may as well do the water pump while you are there. I'm a fan of hughes cams myself though. Crane grinds them, but they (hughes) has done tons of testing on their stuff. Worth the extra few bucks in my opinion.

112 lobe center should keep your idle and vacuum manageable. One thing to consider is that, with the heads and cam being good to ~6000 rpm, you may need to get a little bigger injectors to keep the duty cycle in a manageable area.