Mopower Garage

When Chrysler’s engineers unleashed the 426 Hemi on the streets in 1966, they did not just build another high-performance engine, they created a legend. By 1968, the “Elephant Motor” had already cemented its reputation as the king of the muscle car era, and at the center of that dominance was one of the most precisely engineered camshafts ever installed in a production car.

The 426 Hemi’s solid-lifter, flat-tappet camshaft was the piece that made the magic happen. Every thump of its unmistakable idle, every rush to redline, and every hair-raising blast down the quarter mile came from the way this bumpstick managed airflow through those massive hemispherical chambers.

On paper, the numbers might not sound outrageous by today’s roller-cam standards, 0.490-inch intake lift, 0.480-inch exhaust lift, and advertised durations of 276°/268°. But this was 1968, and for a factory engine with a warranty, it was serious business. The solid lifters demanded regular lash adjustments (0.028 intake, 0.032 exhaust), but that’s the price of precision. The lobe separation hovered around 108–110 degrees, giving the engine just the right blend of idle lope and top-end breathing.

From idle, you could hear the difference. That cam gave the Hemi a deep, uneven rumble, almost alive under the hood. At 850 rpm, it was all attitude; above 2,500 rpm, it transformed into raw fury. Chrysler rated the Street Hemi at 425 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 490 lb-ft of torque at 4,000, but most gearheads knew those figures were sandbagged. With a good tune and free-flowing exhaust, the real numbers were closer to 475 horsepower, and that is with the stock cam.

The race-bred heritage was unmistakable. The Street Hemi’s cam was a toned-down cousin of the brutal race grinds used in NASCAR and Super Stock trim, where lifts soared past .550 inch and durations stretched past 320 degrees. Those race cams were barely civilized, designed for full-throttle blasts and 7,000-rpm heroics. For the street version, engineers like Tom Hoover and the Ramchargers team found the sweet spot, a cam that could make power to 6,000 rpm, idle in traffic, and still let you pull into a dealer for warranty service.

Part number 2780987 became one of the most famous camshafts Chrysler ever produced. Mopar faithful still whisper it like a code. Aftermarket companies such as Mopar Performance and Comp Cams have even resurrected its profile for modern crate engines and restorations, knowing that the secret sauce of the Street Hemi lies in that delicate dance of duration, lift, and lobe separation.

It is easy to get lost in the specs, but the truth is simpler: the 1968 Hemi camshaft gave the engine its soul. It was the line between street civility and strip savagery, the reason a ’68 Road Runner or GTX sounded like no other car in the parking lot. The moment you turned the key and heard that rhythmic, uneven throb, you knew, you were not just starting a car. You were waking the Elephant.