Apeiron

Grim Reaper

Agreed. ZZ3/ZZ4 cam is a nice little cam for a 305. In fact, I am helping a guy tune that very cam in a 305 TBI. There is nothing more humbling than to have a good ol' V8 get it's butt whooped by a Mazda 3.

FastElectrics

thats true.... should I replace all the lifters / rockers too?

Apeiron

You could, but since they're rollers you don't have to. That's what makes it a cheap swap.

FastElectrics

ah I see.. I'll have to think about it...

Grim Reaper

As for rockers, that is a personal decision. I use to recommend Comp Cams Pro-Magnum roller tips over the stock rockers. But I have hear a couple people say they had clearance issues with them. (Best do a search on that to see what others are saying about the roller tipped rockers).

I personally prefer full roller rockers made of steel. Aluminum is not durable and you most likely be looking at replacing those in 30-60K. If the car is not a daily driver, this may be YEARS of service, so it may not be as big an issue. But replacing the rockers will add even more money.

BTW, does your car have A/C? If not, the swap is fairly easy. It's when you have A/C with a tranny cooler etc on a Firebird that makes the job more difficult (actually time consuming is more the proper word).

I've been messing with mine all week (took the week off). Unfortunately, my back is killing me so I am only doing a couple of hours "here and there". But I have no choice as my timing chain is now stretched and I must replace it. So, since I have to go that far, I figured I may as well do the cam at the same time.

You can always drive up to Kamloops this Saturday and see how it easy (cough, cough) it really is.

Apeiron

Is your back going to let you have it done by the weekend, or are you going to need a hand?

FastElectrics

nope no AC.. some days I wish I had it.. But take the T-Tops off and it all good.. as long as your not 'sitting in traffic'..

The only other thing that keeps me from doing mods to the engine is the gas.. staying stock I and being a daily driver 6-7 months of the year. Good gas milage is a real plus.

Sure having the extra HP & torque is nice.. going against other cars. But not 'important'..

Grim Reaper

I'm old and slow. I booked the week off to take care of some other crap and I've been playing with it "a few hours each day". Trying to be methodical as I still have 99% of the original wiring and many of the plastic connectors have NEVER been disconnected. I already broke a couple of them I'm REALLY looking forward to what is going to happen when I loosen the oil pan. What do you think my chances are of loosening the oil pan without breaking my 310,000+ gasket? I know it's doomed to become an "oil leaker" until the day I finally pull the engine and rebuild it.

if you aren't doing anything and want to come out and laugh at the old guy, sure. Right now, I am trying EVERYTHING to keep the whole A/C system together as a "whole unit" and not loose my refrigerant. I am going to try and "swing" it out of the way enough so I can swap the cams. But, I think I am going to end up "undoing" the lines, loose all my refrigerant and then find some place in the US where I can still get the stuff.

Pity, my A/C worked so well too.

One thing is for sure, after you see my car, you will NEVER want a modern day fuelie car with "all the bells and whistles" to modify.

Apeiron

Your car is still nothing compared with the LQ1 in my Olds.

I'll probably have time to stop by and offer my sage advice anyway.

Grim Reaper

Chris, you are always welcome to come down. I am inspecting my radiator & hoses and think I am going to replace all the hoses and have the radiator itself checked out. Right now, with everything apart, it's cheap to have the radiator replaced (as well as having the A/C condensor looked at).

I also am going to look at getting a bigger cam. I am going to try and find the best deal I can on the Comp Cam's 224/230 Extreme Energy Hydraulic Roller 110* LSA. I will try and see if "Brisk" is interested in my Crane 214/222 HR 112* LSA for his 305 TPI (and maybe Tony in the ZZ3 cam Brisk was going to get).

Don't worry Tony, there is a "cam" somewhere in among there for you That ZZ3 cam would be a nice addition to that 305 TBI setup of yours.

FastElectrics

What I would like to know is, can it still be driven with a different cam and stock chip? If I did the swap here. I'd probably want to drive it to your place to do the chip. Also would the fuel pressure the system currently runs at be sufficient?

Apeiron

Sure it could be driven. I don't have the specs for the ZZ cam around, but it's not all that wild.

Apeiron

I'll be in Kamloops at some point this weekend, so ee'll see what happens, anyway.

By the way, I usually use Southgate Radiator for that kind of thing.

Grim Reaper

The specs on the ZZ3/ZZ4 cam is 208/220 @ .050 with .474/.510 lift. Not radical but a nice upgrade for a 305 TBI. Your eprom would permit the engine to run - it just wouldn't be optimal for the power the engine would be capable of until you got a new eprom.

You COULD increase fuel pressure, but it isn't necessary. People generally increase fuel pressure when they cannot alter the eprom. In your case, this won't matter.

Grim Reaper

Well, it's snowing today (where in the heck did that come from)? But I'm going to be playing on the car all weekend anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

I've been reviewing my "parts list" and as soon as my US buddy get's back, I'm going to be placing an order with Summit to get "more parts". Now that I got things apart, I'm thinking "gee, I really should do this too. And maybe that...." (I knew this would happen once I took it apart...I do this to myself all the time. Oh well, time to whip out the plastic. I just hope I don't get carried away and end up replacing the entire power train).

Yeah, I used Southgate last time myself when I needed a new radiator for the "beater car". I'd use them again.

FastElectrics

Well the snow was some what in the forcast.. Bigwhite got a small dump of snow.. it rained in the valley bottom here.

You know you getting carried away is exactly what I fear too.. do the cam, an oh, what about this, and this... .. . . Next thing you know dang that got exspensive...

What kind of HP increase could I even exspect to see with a ZZ4 cam? what do you think it'll do to my 2400rpm torque? stay the same, or push it up? being I like my low end torque. As you can see I don't exactly have much experience in this field.

Have fun on your car this weekend.

Apeiron

I know the feeling... I started out getting ready for a cam swap, and now I'm staring at a bare block on the stand. :P

88maro85chicken

On Wednesday I bought masking tape and spray bombs to paint up these old rally wheels I got.... I had it all planned to be outside all weekend... paint.. wire in my power windows but...
the heavens opened up and the maro is 6 inches deep in snow @#$%^&*

FastElectrics

it tried to snow here in the morning, then it tapered off to nothing.. the ground is just wet...

88maro85chicken

it has now been snowing here for 24 hours.... did I miss summer somewhere

Brisk

its been snowing here for three of four days, no accumulation though... (except on the mountains)

88maro85chicken

Hey guys... not really a forsale forum but its good useable stuff that would be better sold to someone here in the interior.

Hatch glass with most of the hatch parts still attached
Two doors minimal rust... surface only
RS hood flat black primer
Rear bumper cover z28
rear tail light assemblies
valve covers... edelbrock and M/t

I need some wheels and tires as well as a center console with pw switches....

Thanks.... I am interested in trades ..... no cash please... its part of the fun of it. Even if it is something crazy... as long as it is 3gen related

Brisk

well i tried to send you a pm (and couldn't) and I tried to send you an email (but couldn't) so I'll have to send you a message here..

I'm possibly interested in the valve covers. Are they chrome, polished, mate, brushed, ?? Also are they center bolt or?

Do you have any pictures? You can email me if you wish to; brisk@shaw.ca

FastElectrics

Well looks like I should have the camaro on the road by april 15th or 16th.. or a bit sooner..

Hopefully winter will get it's self over with soon.. Hows the weather out yor way Glenn?

Grim Reaper

The weather is fine. But I turned my "simple project" into a dozen "mini-projects" (once I started to inspect certain parts).

Damn, I hate looking under the hood sometimes.

Apeiron

I've only got one project, "put the car back together"... I'll get around to it as soon as I can lift my arms above my head again. The honing machine is manual stroke. :P

FastElectrics

Give me a shout if ya need any help.. though I'm not a great mechanic.. I know my way around the engine at least.. I might learn something too.. It'll give me a good reason to drive somewhere.

Grim Reaper