Looking at adding a mild/medium Crane Comp Cam ( no more than .470 lift) to my car below so stay with stock heads and rockers, springs.... While I am at it, we will probably port the intake runners/plenum and do a little porting to the heads.

I am hoping for very low 13s.

Is there anything else I can do to get a big improvement and into the 12s, I drive it everyday to work, I do not want anything radical and I do not want to send alot of money like new heads, and no blower or nitrous.

I was thinking of of a torque converter down the road, instead of going to 3.70 gears, I seem to hear mixed reactions on that one.

Will my stock chip be fine?

Thanks.

 

well depending on cam if you will need ot change the chip.. I say just get a custom burned one or whatever.

 

JGR,

It sounds like you plan to remove the heads during this project (you mentioned porting). If you are doing that, it would make little sense, economic of otherwise, to stay with the stock valve springs.

Since you would be removing the valves, springs, and retainers to complete the porting work, it would be a shame to reinstall the stock springs. The stock springs have a very low pressure and rate, so even at .440 lifts they will allow valve float at disappointingly low RPMs. For less than $50.00 you can get a set of LT4 "Hot" springs from GM and solve your problems. The lightweight retainers and 7° locks are a good compliment to the springs. You can stick with the stock rockers for now, but roller tips at least should be ni your future plans.

For another $15.70 you can get a set of screwed rocker studs to provide a little peace of mind.

Another good modification to perform at the same time is to convert to an adjustable FPR. This will compliment your cam change and give you the ability to do a little more fine tuning. You can either purchase an aftermarket AFPR or convert your original unit for less than a buck in parts.

Since your '89 should still have a MAF, you can at least get away more aggressive cam profiles before burning a new PROM. Of course, a new PROM would be beneficial, but between fuel pressure adjustment and a little other tuning, you can live with the stock PROM for daily driving and the occasional ¼ mile run.

Crane, Comp, Crower, Lunati, and most other cam grinders offer performance profiles that are "friendly" to ECM-equipped engines. The ramps are steeper to limit overlap and maintain good idle vacuum, but lifts and area under the curve are increased and timed more aggressively to provide higher cylinder pressure from better cylinder charging and evacuation. If you want streetability on an older OBD-I ECM, look closely at those "Computer" cams.