Ok, the two guys who are gonna be doing this are my dad and I. He's very mechanically inclined, and Im somewhat.

Will I have to pull the whole block for this, or is it feasable to do it while the block is in the car?

I was gonna put in a stock LT1 cam because it seems to be pretty good for our application, and its not very pricy at all. Any help here would be great!

Thanks

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Chuck Kulchar
1991 RS

 

LT1 cam, good choice. You don't need to remove the engine from the car, just have to take out the radiator and give yourself some room to work with. How many miles are on your engine?

------------------
, Jon (350 TBI!)
91 Red My website

 

112k on the clock. It still seems strong. I got it with 92k and since then I've put about 70 passes on it with no problems.

So far I've gotten that I'll have to take the valve covers off, take off the intake, take off the springs, pull the rods, pull the lifters, remove the distributor, remove timing cover and chain, remove radiator, and then I should be able to get the cam out.

But someone said I'd have to loosen the oil pan? Why would that be?

Thanks!

 

The timing cover is sort of blocked by the oilpan. Make sure to get all the new gaskets neccessary to put everything back.
If you have the 5-speed, you may have a bit of trouble getting the pan off. Hopefully, you won't have to loosen it much, but if you do, you pretty much have to yank the motor. The bellhousing on the 5-speeds doesn't allow the pan to be slid out the back, like the auto trannys do, when you remove that cheap little flexplate cover.
I've heard that a new timing chain is a good idea, too.

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No guts, no glory.

 

I have always enjoyed the Comp 268

you can use your stock converter and it has a great rpm range. you dont have to remove the engine, just the intake and valve covers, timing chain cover, balancer, Waterpump and pullies, the late model blocks (87-9x) have the grooves in the timing chain cover so you dont have to worry about the oil pan dropping, and even if you did, (I know because I just did this) you can loosen the front 4 or 6 bolts and drop the front loose , just enough to get the cover off, and use a balancer installer, not a hammer when you reinstall the balancer, its about a 5-6 hr job, but great for a nice saturday afternoon.

when you break the cam in , fire it up and hold it at about 2K rpms for AT LEAST 10 minutes, then shut it down and re adjust the valves, you may have to re adjust the valves a few times as hydrolic lifters tend to pump up fully at different intervals.

hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Chris67rs (edited June 04, 2001).]

 

How much is the stock LT1 cam? And what are the specs, how does it compare to the L98 cam?

 

Shouldn't he check retainer to guide clearance. And get stronger valve springs. I didn't know that the stock springs on a 305 could handle the increased lift of the LT1 cam without major valve float and/or coil bind.

If they will, then guess what I'm buying tomorrow.

Do yourself a favor Chuck! and check out getting some new springs to. Where ever you get the cam, they should be able to tell you what springs will handle it as far as closed pressure and open pressure, without having to machine the heads for larger diameter springs.

If you get the LT1 cam, and it works out well, post it. I'd like to know the results. Thanx.

------------------
92 RS w/t-tops 305 TBI Auto.
170K miles and don't burn a drop o'oil
-K&N Truck filter #1500 w, open ele.
air cleaner
-Dynomax 2 1/2" cat-back
-B&M TransPak
-Jet Stage2 Chip
-180* T-Stat w/ 185* Fan Switch
-JVC CD--Alpine speakers & 4ch. amp
Rockford 2ch. to 2 MTX 12" subs

 

5-6 hours of work? christ! Why so long? Any way to make it faster? Professionally, thats $300-400 for LABOR

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1992 Pontiac Firebird (stock)
- 5.0L V8 TBI / Automatic Trans / Every option, excluding leather
- Killer car audio system:

• Aiwa CDC-MP3 head unit
• Rockford Fosgate 360a2 amp
• pair of 12" MTX Thunder 5000s in a custom box
• Pioneer 3-way 6x9s, soon to add more more more!

 

I dunno, I think Im gonna put aside about 5 hours on two days to get it installed and tuned right. Hopefully it'll go faster

What about springs guys? Will my stockers hold up? Two of my friends said the they'll be fine, and my dad did too, but Im gettin' worried now. I dont want to have to pull the heads...

 

Crane makes a spring that fits and will prevent valve float with that higher reving cam. You do not have to remove the heads to replace springs. There is an air fitting that screws into the spark plug hole that you connect to an air source that will keep the valves from falling into the cyl and then use the spring compressor tool that bolts on the rocker stud. You might also think about replacing the valve seals at this time. Good luck with it.

 

Change the valve springs. At 112K miles they are getting weak.

 

I agree w/ the rest about the springs. Even a great cam will not make the power it is capable of with weak valve springs. I would buy a good set of #95-110# stock dia springs. You can go to a local Advance Auto Parts or Auto Zone and have them look up a set of stock replacement springs for a 1970 Z28 Camaro (w/ the 350 cu in ,4 bbl carb). These are great budget springs and are only around $55.00-$60.00 and they have around 100# spring pressure and will hold up to .510" lift in case you ever want to run 1.6 ratio rockers on the LT1 cam. To install them, if you have an air compressor ,you can get a 14mm fitting and screw it directly into the spark plug hole, and pump up the cyl. w/ about 120# air pressure and use a valve spring compressor to remove the old springs. I would also spend about another $8-$10 on a set of valve guide seals since you'll already be there and replace them tool. With an 100k+ mile engine, I'm sure they need it anyway. The only other option would be the obvious, taking off the head, and doing it, which turns a 5 hr (actually around 3hr if you've done several)cam swap into a all day job. The valve seals in my 89 RS were worn and it would smoke at start up, so when I changed seals about 8 mos ago,and since I was already there, I put a set springs similiar to the Z28 springs I mentioned above and I felt a very noticable difference in my car w/o even changing cams. I would get new springs and do it right the 1st time. JMHO

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82 Z28 383, Ported 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads 72 cc Comb. Chambers, Comp custom grind Hyd roller cam, Speed Pro .250" domes, Wheeler Motorsports 4340 I beam rods, Eagle 5140 steel crank, Weiand Team G intake, Holley 830 DP, hedman headers
Trans: Turbo 350 w/ 4000 stall -- Rearend 7.5 w/ Richmond 4.10's, Auburn Minispool
Best ET:11.63 @ 113.25, w/ a 7.39 1/8 @ 93.04, and a 1.626 60'


89 RS, L03 305, Hypertech Chip,cat delete, Dynomax exhaust,K&N open element Filter,160 stat, MSD coil --Trans:700R4 Corvette Servo -- Rearend: 7.5 GM 3.42 w/ posi-lock
New Best ET: 14.91 @92.9
Bassett Racing