Ok in about another 2-3 weeks im gonna be doing a cam swap lt1 into a 305 with 120,000 miles on it, what else should i do while i got her apart, i mean as far as replacing parts, i cant afford heads at this moment so thats out of the question, thanks to all.

 

You might as well put on an aluminum intake while you got it off.

Take a look at your lifters while you got them out and clean them up really well.

Hey, Nice to see someone else from East Tennessee on here too.

 

You'll probably want to replace the timing chain as well. An intake almost a must as knoxbonnie said.

 

Should i go with the Holley tbi intake or buy a performer and use an adaptor, and what type of timing chain.

 

The timing chain can be a stock replacement for a 305 w/ roller cam. For example, you can call Jegs or Summit and ask what timing chains they offer as a stock replacement for your engine and go from there. The intake manifold selection is one of depate. It all depends if you want to keep egr, and the ease of installation you want. For intake recommendations, I suggest you do a search as you will find A LOT of info.

 

Summit has a dual roller timing set for our cars for like $44 I think. Or if you just want a replacemnt chain Autozone sells them for $17.

If you want a trouble free installation while keeping EGR, go with the Performer TBI intake. Its a very good intake over the stocker.

If you wanna work on it a little more, the carb intake is a little better. Its not too hard to swap it on and change everything over. The only trickey thing was the throttle linkage.

 

I was curious, i am doing this same swap, edel tbi intake, and lt1 cam with the addition of some fresh 305 dart ii Sportsman jr's from world. Would it be possible to do the cam with the engine in the car? i figure at the least i would have to take the nose of the car off, but i have done a head swap on my 70 chevelle with the engine still in the car (votecs, love them) and didn't have any problems. I am planning on doing this as soon as i get the heads back from the machine shop with new studs and maybe a valve job. Should i pull the motor? i have a stand, but no hoist, and i would have to rent one.

thanks,
Mike

 

The motor can still stay in the car. I had to take out a bracket that sits in front of the radiator, that has 3 bolts holding it in.

The only reason the engine needs to be lifted is to drop the oil pan which is what you need to do to correctly install the timing cover. Silicon and some inginuity corrected that but i still dont trust how i did mine.

 

Valve Springs and valve seals. Chances are, with the high miles, its better to change them now then later. Springs are 42 bucks from summit and seals are cheap as hell at autozone.

 

anyone got a PN or specs of what springs to use during such a swap.....are the stock ones sufficient or will I need something a little more "beefier" when I do mine???

 

I have always recommended changing the valve springs to K-Motion 571-K-700 valve springs. Some like them and some don't. They have a good spring rate for an LT1 cam and fit the stock head and are less than $50. What more can you ask for?