Before anybody says to swap out my motor, I would love to, but I can't. I do not have enough money and just want to wake up my lg4. After constantly being picked on for having 165 hp in a v8 camaro, I put headers and an exhaust on. I was now thinking getting a little more hp but I did not want to spend a ton or have to ditch the computers. Does anybody have suggestions as to what the biggest cam I could put in without having ecm problems, and what I need to buy in order to do this build? It is an 86 so it is obd1 I know I need the parts for the valve train but what exactly do I need? I am trying to price this all out to make sure it is possible. I am only 18 and would "like" to do the work my self. Any tips?

 

you are going to need the cam and new lifters and of course new gaskets. It is a flat tappet so the good news is it will not be expensive. I would definitely put a new timing chain on as well. I would also look into an edelbrock performer intake as well I would recommend a cam around 214/220 at .050 lift for a 305.

 

I would take advantage of the situation and go with a roller cam. May be a tad more spendy but atleast you have no chance of wiping a lobe. Later down the road you can add a set of roller tip rockers or full rollers.

I totally agree on the timing chain.

Sent from my iPhone using IB AutoGroup

 

This is a long and painful road that will just lead to a larger C.I motor anyway. My advice is save your money. Enjoy the car for what it is. I spent a lot of money on my 5.0L H.O and when I stacked the piston rings from too much methanol during a boosted run I realized it was time. JMO

 

Only spend money on parts that will work for the 350 you may or should build later. Do the suspension work, do gears, do new seats, repaint it or exhaust. Any money spent on 305 internals is an utter waste. Look into the 350 vortec engines or the plethora of super cheap 5.3 truck engines. Convert it to carb and be done, or add a turbo or blower. People have taken stock 5.3 engines to 600+ horsepower and run them for a long time before breaking them and at that point who cares because the engine was only $300!

 

I am not familiar with the computer of a 305 carburated car, but if they are anything like the computers of a 305 tuned port car then a cam that size will run like crap.

 

The computer controls spark and the mixture control solenoid (Idle and part throttle only)
Advancing the distributor a bit more mechanically can help but may lead to detonation if not running good gas.
Gets a bit better response but fails emissions immediately.
The power is made through more timing advance and the secondaries of the carb. They have metering rods on cams that can be changed to get the AFR needed with the rpm.
That cam is not terrible for that but you should understand what can be done with the carb and possibly chip change to get a better timing curve.
Otherwise you will just have a gas hog that's worse than you started with.
IMO, It is best to leave the cam alone and tweak to optimize what you have.
The heads are not that good that a cam change would reap "worlds" of difference anyway.
Maybe someone can run the parts you have through a simulator to see what the difference might look like.

just

 

I disagree on the cam swap. 179/194 @ .050, .350/.385" lift, 106* ICL, 109* LSA is about as small as a cam can get. Even a stock 350 cam is worth 15-20 HP up near redline. I had a 305 in my old G20 van that felt like it gained 50 HP stabbing in a 204/214 @ .050, .423/.446" lift, 108* ICL, 112* LSA cam.

 

I agree a cam would gain power but you need to alter the timing to take advantage of it.
Something the LG4 ECM does not have much support doing.
Only the stuff listed in the CCC section of the guide book.