Hello! I have a 1986 Camaro that originally came with
a 2.8 MPFI motor but has since been replaced with a
LG4 305ci from an 82 Camaro.

I was wondering what the stock cam lift for the LG4 was?

Now I'm more of a Mustang guy (Sorry! But I am trying to gain more info on the f-body!) so I'm not too sure on Chevy stuff. Do they come stock with 1.5 rockers?
If so, would I benefit more from adding 1.6 rockers or putting
in a completely different cam?

My plan as of right now is:

Hedman Shorties, March underdrive pullies, Weiand X-CELerator intake, Holley 650 double pumper, and either a CompCams X-Treme Energy 262H cam or 1.6 rockers.

A head swap will come later when I do an engine rebuild and after I beef up the chassis & suspension. Heads I'm thinking of getting are the World Products S/R Torquers.

All help and comments appreciated! Thanks!

- Nathan -
1986 Mustang GT .. FIVE-O
1986 Camaro

 

Read em and weep. https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/techdb.shtml near the bottom

Don't waste money on the pullies.

You have the earliest, and argualbly the worst, incarnation of the LG4. It has the worst exhaust, the power-robbing clutch fan, the puny cam, etc. etc.

The things that kill the LG4 are:

1. The exhaust, every single piece from the heads to the street. It should be replaced with all the stuff for some other car, like a 88 350 TPI. DO NOT get any part that will bolt up to LG4 stuff; doing so will preserve the bottleneck and invalidate most of the money you spend.

2. The cam... the LG4 comes with the lamest excuse for a cam ever put in a small block Chevy, period. Even worse than the one responsible for the 170 HP 350 and similar wonders of the 70s. THe Comp XE series is a good match to what those heads need; the XE256 if you have a stock converter and the usual 2.73 gears, the XE262 with a stick shift or looser converter and some better gears. Get good rockers, 1.6s are a bonus but not necessary; almost anything else is better than stamped sheet metal ones. Don't waste your money on any like that. I'd recommend the Comp 1400 series, for bang-for-the-buck.

3. Port the heads, and maybe install larger intake valves.

4. Gears... 3.42 or 3.73.

5. Air cleaner. Anything is better than what's there. Don't turn the sock lid upside down. Cold air induction, such as the stock L69 setup, is better than an open element.

6. The fan.... a stock clutch fan wastes 10-12 HP. Get rid of it. Put in a good electric one, operated by a temp switch in the head. Do not depend on some switch the driver has to flip; sooner or later, the driver won't do his part, and the motor will burn up.

Until you do all of those things, the carb & intake are a waste of money. Don't bother.

The way to make a car go faster is not to unbolt and re-bolt big things on top of the motor, replacing the stock pieces with big shiny chrome and polished aluminum. This is the fastest way I know of to a major disappointment; a car that's no faster than it was, is less reliable, costs more to operate, and sucks up all your available budget so you don't have any money left to do any of those other things I listed that actually produce results.

The correct way to modify a car is to identify the "weakest link" in the car's (note I said "car", not "engine"), the one that most impedes its performance, and make an intelligent informed selection of replacement, consistent with the rest of the car and your personal goals for the car. As I said, unbolting and re-bolting the stuff up on top that everybody can see, usually doesn't accomplish much of anything, if the actual limits to the car's performance remain intact elsewhere.

 

Thanks for your reply!

I was to install the electric fan, forgot to add that
to the list of things I'm am planning to do.

I don't know of any place around here that will port
heads so that isn't an option. I think headers will
improve things drastically, cause let's face it. Stock manifolds
suck!

I have a Borla cat back system in my garage that my dad
took off of his Z28 so that will be put on my Camaro.

I'm not sure if I even want to swap cams, I may just wait
until I rebuild the motor. As for the rockers, I found some
CompCams Magnum 1.6 3/8" Self-Align rockers in Jeg's
(part #249-1418-16) for $191.99. They also have 1.52
Self-Align rockers but cost just as much so might as well
go for the 1.6.

According to that link that you gave, the 1986 Camaro with 2.8 came with 3.42 rear gears. So I guess my gearing is fine for now.
The LG4 in the car right now has an Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock 600cfm carb, Edelbrock triangle air cleaner.

Are there any websites that offer proven 305 engine combinations that can make good horsepower?

Thanks again!

- Nathan -
1986 Mustang GT .. FIVE-O
1986 Camaro

 

Do it yourself. This is something that any idiot can master. Even me. If I can figure it out without mangling it too bad, surely someone who has enough intelligence to switch from Mustangs to Chevys should have no trouble at all.

Those are the exact type of rockers that I was referring to, except that if those are the stock 82 heads, those are the wrong part # in that series. The ones you want are the 1416s. You can't run self-aligners on heads that are set up to align the rockers themselves.

Lose the traingle air cleaner simulator!!!!! That is not a go-fast piece in the least; it's strictly a street-rod show type of piece, for 8-year-old boys to oooh and aaahh over all the chrome on top of this motor. It's chrome, so it must be fast, right? I don't think so! Get it off of there before it catches fire (About half of them die that way) or gets sucked into the motor (the other half fail that way), it's just a matter of time before it does one or the other, like all the rest of them. It's a massive restriction, which is why it gets sucked into the motor in the first place; and it's jammed right up against the hood, so it flows less even than the lame stock piece would have. It is evil in every way. You're on it. This is the one.

If you don't already have a different distributor from the stock one, you need one. The stock one relies on the computer to supply timing advance. You need one with mechanical and vacuum advance instead.

 

:sillylol: Not switching, I've always liked Camaros & Firebirds. I still like Mustangs more though.

I have some extra heads sitting around in my garage I guess I could mess with. I've got some got a 1984 LG4 sitting in my garage I could mess with the heads off that and maybe my 1986 Ford 5.0 heads.

Okay so hook me up with some more input oh wise one :hail: !!

My major plan for a motor is:

334ci stroker short block
Forged pistons & rods (if I can find'em!)
CompCams XE262
World Products S/R Torquer 64cc (ported,would like to open valves to 2.02/1.6)
Weiand X-CELerator intake (ported)
Holley 650cfm Double Pumper
Shorty headers

I'm hoping that'd get me some where in the vacinity of
300hp n/a. I want forged internals and low comp. pistons
because I still have a thought of slapping a Vortech s/c
on there.

I seen something about Stud Girdles thought maybe that'd be
beneficial. I don't know if they have them for Chevy or not but a main girdle would be a good thing, along with a windage tray.

Anyway, I have some ideas.

- Nathan -
1986 Mustang GT
1986 Camaro

 

actually the march underdrive pulleys work great. my brother put a set on his 91 z28 with a 350 tpi and he noticed a little difference in power and it charges better before.

 

if i had an early camaro and i was to spend money ont he belt line, id convert over to the serpintine setup before i get the u-drive pulleys. The newer setups are simpler and probably save as much if not more power then the u-drive pulleys, not to mention that the u-drive pulleys have been known to cause cooling and charging problems.