I have an 86 camaro with the pissy 305 and in the search for power I'm looking at a cam. With the xe265 will I need the kit or should by lg4 be able to take just the cam...note I've already done full exhaust including headers

 

whenever ive done a cam swap, ive always replaced the lifters and pushrods. and the timing chain for good measure.

but keep in mind, your untouched motor is a perfectly sealed shell. once you break that seal, even if its something as simple as swaping intakes, you open pandoras box. be ready for something unexpected

otherwise, id say that sounds like a good cam for an lg4

 

Yes, good cam choice. Well known to match what that motor needs.

You need, at a minimum, the cam, lifters, valve springs, retainers, and keepers. DO NOT even HALLUCINATE for even ONE SECOND that your old wore-out stock springs will survive that cam!!!! I doubt you would even get as far as all the way backed out of your driveway before something breaks, if you were to be so foolhardy as to attempt that. I'm sure you won't though.

Timing set would be wise; you'll see when you get in there. The phenolic teeth are probably significantly worn off of the chinesium gums of the cam sprocket. Even if they aren't, the way they fail is, they suddenly crumble to dust one day out of the clear blue - could be while driving down the road, or when you hit the key to start it, or at WOT, or any other time - and fall off of the gums. No way to predict when, but the more you stress them, the sooner it will be. Get that chinesium POS out of there. Yerbasic stock replacement set is fine. NOT a cheeeeeeeep "roller" set such as you get at Auto Zone!!!! That's not a roller at all, it just looks like rollers; it's really bushings. It "stretches" (actually, wears) FAR more FAR faster than a stock Link-Belt style. Avoid that crap. Either bite off on a REAL roller, which you can tell because hte "truck rollers" (not rollers at all) are around $20 the set, but a REAL roller starts at around $50; or, get a stock replacement (about the same $15-20ish range but looks exactly like what's there now). Replace the whole set, i.e. teh chain and BOTH gears, no matter what.

Ideally, you'll change the cam, lifters, timing set, push rods, springs, retainers, keepers, seals, and rocker arms. Prolly some "mightaswells" too like water pump, belts & hoses, PCV, plug wires, tune-up stuff, fuel filter, and such as that; all the wear-out parts you touch in the process basically.The MUST items are cam, lifters, springs, retainers, & keepers. You be the judge of how much further renewal and imrovement you want to make. Seals to eliminate the cloud of blue smoke at startup, timing set to eliminate the risk of sudden abject failure, rockers to improve the likelihood that the motion of the valves wil more nearly resemble the profile of the cam, water pump because ... because, etc..

There's not really any risk, beyond that, of hurting anything; except to the extent that you are tempted to enthusiastically and vigorously test-drive it excessively. Not that anyone would ever do that, or that it's ever happened, of course; just sayin.

Cam break-in is another matter altogether.