ALL THE WAY
May 23, 2023
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
SUBTLY SLICED
Subtle is a term that doesn’t describe many hot rods, as most of them use bright paint and loud engines to stand out in the crowd. The new wave of high-end hot rods, however, often use softer colors and more elegant themes to make an outstanding statement. Doug Hoppe’s ’35 Ford coupe is a fine example of a subtle yet radical rod, and the crew at Lakeside Rods and Rides did an amazing job with the extensive metalwork, paint and final assembly. Lakeside Rods and Rides is notorious for elegant street rods, including this year’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, and the guys in the shop know exactly what it takes to build a jaw-dropping car.
Poole-Adams Racing Doubles Down at HPX 2026
Daren Poole-Adams doesn’t chase trends—he builds what makes sense, then lets the results speak. That philosophy was on full display at last year’s HPX, where his reengineered Gen 5 Toyota Supra debuted as a ground-up NHRA Stock Eliminator concept. Built from a bare shell and developed in collaboration with NHRA, the project quickly became one of the most talked-about builds on the show floor.
Firewall Mayhem
Crankshaft trigger mechanisms have been used in racing applications for a considerable length of time. In truth, they’ve actually been in service for decades. It’s a simple known fact that one of the best ways to improve engine performance is to ensure that the ignition timing is stable. That’s the whole purpose behind such a system, and that’s why racers regularly use them.
Spotlighter
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: The Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft from Brian Tooley Racing
The Roundhouse Upgrade Your 5.7 Deserves
Every once in a while a part drops that isn’t just an upgrade — it’s a movement. That’s BTR’s Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft — the martial-arts master of Gen III HEMI valvetrain violence. If the name sounds familiar, it should. This is the HEMI evolution of the wildly successful Truck Norris LS cam. It’s been dyno-proven, driveway-tested, and it just works.
Author
The Auto Builder Staff
Photos Courtesy of Brian Tooley Racing
Picture the scene: a bone-stock 2012 Ram with 75,000 miles, six-speed trans, stock muffler, and a backyard wrench session. Friday night, beers on the workbench, hood up. By Sunday evening, it’s idling like a heavyweight prizefighter and pulling clean past 6,000 rpm. That’s not marketing hype — that’s the actual test mule BTR used to prove this camshaft before it ever went on sale.
Why Truck Norris Hits Harder
- Power Where You Live: We’re talking an extra 1,500 rpm of usable range and big gains above 2,000 rpm — up to +69 horsepower and +18 lb-ft on the BTR dyno at 6,000 rpm compared to stock.
- Street Manners + Strip Attitude: It drives like stock at light throttle but snarls when you bury your foot. Great idle quality, no converter-fighting weirdness.
- Factory Converter Friendly: Works with stock converters — no need to blow cash on a high-stall unless you want to.
- Real-World Tested: Cold starts, brake-in-gear tests, freeway pulls. This cam was shaken down in the exact scenario you’re about to use it.
Specs That Matter
Duration @ .050: 212/23X
This high-duration profile gives your HEMI more valve time at high RPM, translating to stronger top-end power without sacrificing street manners. It’s designed to unleash your engine’s full potential while keeping it daily-drivable.
Lift: .587/.586
With nearly .59 inches of lift, the Truck Norris cam opens the valves farther than stock, allowing more air and fuel into the engine. The result? A thicker midrange, more torque at cruising RPMs, and a big smile every time you bury the throttle.
LSA (Lobe Separation Angle): 109.5°
The cam’s 109.5° LSA strikes the perfect balance between aggressive power and smooth idle. You get an “angry-but-streetable” lope, excellent throttle response, and no harsh idle chatter — even on a daily driver.
Operating Range: 1,500–7,000 RPM
From towing on the highway to late-night drag strip runs, the Truck Norris cam delivers a broad, usable powerband. It gives you the low-end grunt and the high-RPM pull you want without any dead spots.
Chop Scale: 5/7
This cam is noticeable without being overbearing. On the chop scale, 5/7 means your neighbors will hear it, but your truck is still completely streetable. It’s the sweet spot for those who want attitude with control.
Dyno-Proven Gains: +69 HP / +18 lb-ft torque at 6,000 RPM
BTR didn’t just test this cam on paper. Real-world dyno pulls prove that the Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft delivers serious performance gains right where you can feel them — midrange to high RPM.
Factory Converter Friendly
No need to spend extra on a high-stall converter unless you want to. This cam plays nicely with your stock converter, keeping your daily driver functional while delivering a meaner attitude under full throttle.
Built as a System
This isn’t just a cam swap — it’s a package engineered to do the job right. BTR’s testing revealed valve tip wear on higher-mileage HEMIs, so they built the Valve Tip Saver — a lash cap tailored for the HEMI to prevent costly valvetrain issues. Pair it with a shorter pushrod (.030″ shorter), SK017 spring kit, and a non-MDS lifter conversion, and you’ve got a rock-solid combo that’ll take abuse.
BTR Video Showcase: See the Cam in Action
If you want to see the Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft in the wild, check out BTR’s official YouTube video. Watch a full install, dyno pulls, and hear the aggressive “angry-but-streetable” lope in action. This video gives you a first-hand look at what makes the BTR HEMI VVT Truck Norris Camshaft a standout upgrade for your Ram.
Bottom Line
The Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft isn’t for spec sheet collectors. It’s for the guy who can swap a cam in his garage and wants results that back up the hype. It’s for the Ram owner who tows on Friday and does a burnout on Saturday. It’s for anyone who wants their HEMI to sound meaner, pull harder, and do it all without losing drivability.
With gains of up to 69 horsepower, 18 lb-ft of torque, and a powerband stretching to 7,000 rpm, the Truck Norris HEMI Camshaft is the real-deal roundhouse kick to stock performance. It idles with a perfect “angry-but-streetable” lope, drives easy, and keeps your factory converter happy.
Made in the USA. Real-world tested. Street-ready.
🔥 Ready to give your HEMI the roundhouse kick it deserves? Head over to BrianTooleyRacing.com and get yours TODAY!
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