I've got a Vortec-bbody cam sitting in my garage picking up dust and I am curious to see how my car would run with it. I already have a ZZ4 cam I plan on using in the future but I want to start off with something smaller just to "practice" tuning a cam in so to speak. I want to use a set of mildly ported swirlies, my 1.6 rockers and this cam, I want to try it out. how hard would this be to tune? I have the EBL Flash just for clarity.

 

anybody?

 

I would newer put something smaller then a LT1 cam in, what specs will that cam have with 1.6 rockers?

 

The stock cam specs are....
1994-1996 B-bodies (including L99 4.3L): 191/196 0.418/0.430 lift 111 LSA
From what I understand with 1.6 rockers this changes to.....
194/199 0.446/0.459 lift 111 LSA
I know it's small but I'm curious to see how it will perform, plus I already have everything here I need to do this. I figure this would be a pretty torquey cam.

 

I 2001 I installed an LT4 cam and had headers, full exhaust with stock gears and trans 5spd/3.08. I did little more than add pump shot to it. It ran ok but after seeing how tuning did it would have ran better..

Long story short....you would need little to no tuning to make that cam work"

BUT since you are not "afraid" of tuning as many are, you should be cool. Especially with the EBL. I wished the ZZ4 did not have such a high lift on the exhaust. It would be easier to run in many cases as far as lift.

 

So you think, maybe a couple of VE learns might get me running pretty good? SO this brings me to my next question. What are some good springs and retainers that would work with this cam? A good double roller chain? I plan on using alittle spray later on for giggles.

 

That vortec cam with 1.6 rockers looks wery close to stock LT1 And LT4 cams,

http://www.malcams.com/legacy/misc/CamData.htm

"ultimate LT1 cam" stickie has a list of part#.

Id say get at least a stock LT1 or LT4 cam and trow on some 1.6 rockers once the heads allow it, gets you close to a LT4 hot cam.

from my experience with my 94-95 LT1 cam and stock 1.5 rockers, some VE lerns and at least 20psi FP with 305 injectors and adequat fueling changes in the bin, it should run nice already.

 

Well I already have this cam, I got it when I got one of my 350 blocks 2 years ago. So I don't have to buy an LT1 cam again. I'm trying to invest as little money as possible for right now. I just need some new springs and a chain to finish this off.

 

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Others may be better answer this than myself as I have only modded Vortec heads and used the stock Vortec retainers and changed springs.

 

I was going back through some old posts and found this from Kevin91z....
"Manley 22410-16 for upgraded cam, and 22409-16 for a stock cam. And the retainers are 23651-16 for standard height and 23652-16 for +.050" more spring height." would the 22410's be adaquate with this cam with 1.6 rockers? Also, what would be a good double roller to use?

 

I talked with Kevin some time ago about those springs and bought a set for the rebuild/upgrade planned. He's running them with alot more lift than you are planning to run here. To run the .460 lift you posted above a stock type spring and retainer would work. IOW you would not find it necessary to run offset parts to have enough clearance but they would not hurt.

 

I am wondering what BIN file to start with that might make things alittle easier to get this cam dialed in and I was thinking that the EBL_F_TB.BIN file would probably be a good start for this cam. From what I understand the SA might be alittle high for the swirlies but I think it might get the car running easier. Any thoughts?

 

If all you are changing is the cam I would just do VE Learns. The Vortec cam is rather mild and won't take much to dial in.

As you surmise the base EBL_F_TB calibration will have too much spark timing for the swirl port heads.

RBob.

 

A few days ago I tried "EBL_F_0016.BIN" with only fueling correction due to the slightly higher FP (17psi) im using for now and HIWY mode desactivated. The car drove nicely and after 2 VE learns, idle got even smother.

 

What bin is this?..............EBL_F_TB.BIN..............

 

It is the base TBI Flash calibration. Basically the same as the Classic EBL.BIN but updated with the changes.

RBob.

 

Thanks Bob. That's what I assumed but it's too early and I'm too stiff to get my foot to my mouth yet.

robertfrank when are you going to try and do the swap? AND why don't you want to use the ZZ4 heads now? When you have everything pulled to do the cam you are close to the parts removal for a head swap.

 

I plan on doing the swap in a few weeks to get the rest of the parts I need. Springs, gaskets and what not.
To be frankly honest with you I don't trust them. I bought them off of Ebay and I was lied to. The heads were a bit damaged and it wasn't described in the auction. I had to have them milled down considerably to get rid of some of the damage and there seems to be some cracking around one of the intake valve guides. I had them checked out and from what people have told me I should be fine but my gut is telling me not to do it. So I'm just experimenting for now until a suitable plan of action comes about.

 

In that case I'd just install it [the cam] with some new springs as you had planned along with a new timing chain. How long can you have the car down for?

 

one day, a sunday to be exact. It's my DD so I have to plan out EVERYTHING before the first bolt is unscrewed.

 

I have felt your pain. I did my cam, timing chain, oil pump change in two days. Did a Vortec head and intake swap in 2-3 days. [can't remember on that one since I started on a Friday]

The worse one was an entire 350 back to 305 swap from Friday afternoon to startup on Sunday afternoon. Talk about a thrash. I couldn't do that now.

I could have done the cam in one day upon reflection. In doing the oil pump I dixked around alot getting the oil pan off.

BUT...I DID NOT change springs at that time. You can do those before or after the cam. With the lift you stated the stock ones while not the best will work. Mine was with the stock LT4 lift of .450 max.

 

How much lift are the stock heads good too? Also Thomas, what kind of fueling changes did you make. I'm running 15psi on the "stock" engine.

 

The only way to be sure on the lift and not go by hearsay and others experiences is to check it for yourself. I cannot believe that you would have trouble with the .460 lift that you stated for your cam with 1.6 rockers. One thing I always remind people to do though is to check for push rod to head clearance with the 1.6 rockers as the rod is moved closer to the pivot point.

Thomas should be able to tell ya as his cam is around .460....

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-...o3-lt1cam.html