IPD vx cam in b21a?

how would i go putting an ipd vx cam in by '78 b21a? am i going to get a noticeable difference?
i just dont wanna be going and spending $270(incl p&H) on something that isnt going to give me any significant difference.

cheers guys

Early B21A's are not very good for tuning and stuff. You probably have an A cam now which means the VX won't make that much of a difference. The powerband will be moved up a bit and you may a few HP but no huge performance increase. Installing a clutch-type or electric fan and bumping up the compression rate might give a bigger increase. They did that on them in 1981 I think and it gained like 6 HP.

You're dealing with a 90HP, 2.1 liter, 8.5:1 compression carb'd redblock. You're not going to get any significant gains without alot of engine modifications (head work, higher compression, etc), none of which is really bolt on.

Canuckvolvo said:

90HP

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Ahem. 100(!)HP.

Canuckvolvo said:

You're dealing with a 90HP, 2.1 liter, 8.5:1 compression carb'd redblock. You're not going to get any significant gains without alot of engine modifications (head work, higher compression, etc), none of which is really bolt on.

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+1

It would almost be better to do an engine swap. Would probably be cheaper too.

Yeah mate I have a B23E you can have for real cheap

If you want to try a cam, try out a K cam. Ipd cam is a waste of $300 considering you could get something better reground for only $180.

Like its been said already, the compression is the real issue. Personally i'd pick up a junkyard head from an early 80's (80-83 iirc) 240. It should be a 405 head with a K cam. Get that skimmed around .75-1mm and give it a go. Should bump the compression a fair bit, and the cam will give you some top end as well. All up with a new HG it would be comfortably under the cost of the ipd cam.

ok cheers for the advice guys. yeah im just looking for a fairly simple solution to just bump up my performance a little, just so its not SO slow, i guess a swap is the way to go.
if i go a swap am i going to need to get a whole bunch of other stuff to get it to actually run? new wiring looms etc? what exactly is the process? im sure its not as simple as just whipping the old one out and throwing the new one in...

apologies for my noobery, haha

You could by a B230FB from a late model 940 for about $300-400. All good bits a VX3 cam and 531 Head but allot of work to install it.
Going to EFI (Fuel injection) seems too much work,
Not sure about the K-Jet I think that would be more viable.
So maybe a 83-84 B23E from a 240? donor car with a manual trans.

I should add, if you're after a 405 head and/or K cam I can supply those too.

nickm, 1984 B23E were 398 head and A cam, only 129hp. 80-83 had the 405 head and K cam (136hp), GTs had the H cam (140hp).

A nice pair of carbies would be fun on a B23E in an early 240, I reckon.

Just swapping to a K-cam without any other changes will give you more power, but you WILL lose low end. Ideally you'll want a distributor from a K-cam'd engine so the ignition curve matches, that will help alot. Not sure what ignition you currently have so no idea if you can simply drop in a different distributor or not.

The *best* thing to do would be remove the head, get some mild work done on it, skim it JUST as much as you need to make sure it's flat, and use the thinnest MLS head gasket which will get you up over 9:1 compression.

That, in combination with some carb work (apparently one carb set up is alot better than another, single Solex vs dual SUs, or some such thing) will probably get you another 20hp and 20ft lbs across the board. You will really notice that. If you do all the work, it will still cost you at least $300 in parts, plus machining.

I'd say if you're going that far you might as well just get a B23E.

1984 B23E were 398 head and A cam, only 129hp. 80-83 had the 405 head and K cam (136hp), GTs had the H cam (140hp).

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I thought the change was 85, the motor between the good one and the unleaded models... my bad.


Around 20hp in a N/A is a good increase. 40hp is a different car.
I'd go with Dauntless suggestion.

cheers for the advice everyone, i think ill probably go with the swap. im sure if i run into any problems i can get plenty of help here