i have an 85 trans am with the LG4 motor with no mods. know i would like to upgrade the camshaft but wouldn't like to mess with the lifters or any of that but still get some horsepower gain. so is it worth it or should i just go all out and change the lifters and such.

 

If its a flat tappet engine then you always need to change the lifters. The lifters wear with the cam. There cheap anyway ($3 ea) so you should replace them. I also recommend getting new springs to match what ever cam you pick. Just be conservative with the cam you choose.
Hope that helps some,

Seth

 

You cannot change the cam without changing the lifters, if you want it to last more than a couple hundred miles.

The Comp XE256 is known to work VERY WELL in that application. Get all of its supporting pieces; cam, lifters, timing set, springs, retainers, keepers, & POSITIVE seals (not umbrellas or O-rings).

You're mostly wasting your time until you change out the exhaust; EVERY SINGLE PIECE, as a complete asembly, from the heads to the street. DO NOT use ANYTHING that will fit LG4!!!! Doing so will preserve the bottleneck, which is, the Y-pipe that's about the size of a drinking straw. No, make that, a coffee stirrer stick. Get a set of chassis-specific headers for about a 88 305/350 TPI, and the cat and cat-back for the same application; and swap it all out at once. SLP 1-5/8" headers (come with Y-pipe), or Edelbrock TES, are 2 I've used with good results. DO NOT just bite off on the cheeeeeeepest thing you can find that says "headers" on the catalog page!! You will spend more money at the exhaust shop trying to graunch that kind of crap into your car than you will spend getting the right thing up front, and you will get crappy results besides. I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting them ceramic coated.

That cam, together with one of the exhaust options I suggested, is worth around 50-60 HP on that motor. Either one by itself is worth about 10 MAYBE if you're lucky. You need to do them both.