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would an lt1 camshaft work well in lg4?

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Old 11-30-2003, 03:33 PM
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Car: 1987 Firebird Formula
Engine: 305 LG4
Transmission: 700R4
would an lt1 camshaft work well in lg4?

The bottom end of my 305 is still in good shape,i'm not really burning any oil between oil changes.I've already upgraded the exhaust on my car and would now like to upgrade the top end of the engine.I'm planing on getting a edelbrock performer intake manifold(which can be swapped onto a 350 in the future) and changing camshafts.A friend of mine will sell me his ltl cam for $20.This seems like a great deal to me,is that cam too much for my lg4 or would this be a good swap.I just want a fast daily driver ,I dont auto cross or anything.By the way my car is an '87 so it has a roller peanut already. Thanks
Old 11-30-2003, 03:58 PM
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Assuming that it's any one of the stock LT1 cams:

It would be a considerable improvement. Nowhere near as much of an improvement as a truly good cam would be, but an improvement over what's there now. Some of the LT1 cams would be better than others. It won't be too much for the LG4.
Old 11-30-2003, 04:59 PM
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Car: 1987 Firebird Formula
Engine: 305 LG4
Transmission: 700R4
Thanks RB83, I belive its a stock lt1 cam out of a '94 z28.I figured for $20 I can't go wrong.I agree that a comp or crane cam might be really good but I was trying to avoid spending over $200 on a roller cam when I'm not sure what I'm doing down the road as far as swapping in a 350.I've been trying to follow everyones suggestions here on the board and spending most of my money on parts that will transfer over to a 350 (i.e. headers, and cat back ,and intake manifold).Would I lose some bottom end power with that cam in a 305?Or need to change gears to take advantage of it?
Old 11-30-2003, 05:02 PM
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Car: 1987 Firebird Formula
Engine: 305 LG4
Transmission: 700R4
Oh ,one more thing.Could I use my stock timming chain or would I have to switch to one for an lt1 block ?Is there a difference between them? Thank you .
Old 11-30-2003, 06:58 PM
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Originally posted by MilehighBird
Oh ,one more thing.Could I use my stock timming chain or would I have to switch to one for an lt1 block ?Is there a difference between them? Thank you .
You should replace your timing chain. You do not need an LT1 one but just a stock replacment. You will have to grind down the dowel pin a little bit and thats all you have to do to make that cam work. Everything else is normal (gaskets and parts) as far as cam changes go.
Old 11-30-2003, 09:23 PM
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I know '86 was the 1pc rear main, '87 was the center bolt heads and also the last year of the Q-Jet, but did the LG4 use a roller cam before '88?

I'm just asking. I thought the LO3 was the first 305 to get a roller cam.
Old 11-30-2003, 09:39 PM
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yes it did
Old 12-01-2003, 01:23 PM
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Car: 1987 Firebird Formula
Engine: 305 LG4
Transmission: 700R4
Thanks for the replys,I think I'll get it then.
Old 12-01-2003, 01:42 PM
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I can think of a few other cams that would work better. I used an LT1 cam in my 305 it was a bottem end dog. Granted it wasent the exact same LT1 cam but it was too much for my 80k 305 to handle. Skip the performer manifold, its not much if any better then stock, weiand action + would be an improvment.
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