I m lookin to swap in a lt1 camshaft in a 305 engine.The engine is out of a 89 firebird.Suffix code V0227AKH.Im trying to swap in the cam but i believe it has to be a roller engine.Any help??

 

roller engines have raised bosses in the center of the valley for the spider web holddown as well as provisions on the front of the block for the cam stop plate. if this is not a roller engine you will need to do retrofit roller lifters. cut down the down on the lt1 cam.

 

Ok now im REALYLY confused.Any pics??

 

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175503

 

what are the numbers on the back of the block under the drivers side head?

 

you have to take the intake off to tell. you cant tell for sure from the outside.

 

I dont know the #'s on the back of the engine.I already went to nastyz28.com thats how I determined wat the motor was out of but it says nothing about distinguishing roller and non roller.

 

3 easy steps.

Step 1:
Lose the all-caps.

Step 2:
Remove intake.

Step 3:
Inspect lifters.


Any motor could have any lifter system in it, regardless of the "codes" or what it "came with". Specifically, any roller motor could easily have been downgraded at any time to flat-tappet. Only way to know for sure is to LOOK AT THE PARTS.

 

OK.Now any pics?I would hate to buy the cam disaemble.To find out its a flat tappet.Or can u please tell me EXACTLY wat to look for to determine which is which.Thanks

 

Spot the difference

Roller





Non Roller

 

nope don't see it ! lol

 

If it is a roller block and is still fitted with a roller cam and stock type roller lifters
then it will look like this

 

Factory roller cam block will have the 3 threaded bosses thru the center of the
lifter valley as seen in the photo above.
Factory non roller cam block will not have the bosses tapped.

If you can, remove the intake-- you will see the part attached thru the lifter valley, that is what they call " the spider ". It helps keep litters in proper place.
No spider, no roller system.

IDK what year rollers came out.
Numbers // letters on the block help determine what year // size it is.
This info will hugely help in any work you want to do in the future.

 

THANK YOUUUU!!!!!

 

Non roller block doesn't have the bosses at all.

Plenty of roller ready blocks out there with correct castings and machining
( flats above the lifters for dog bones for example)
with the holes sometimes unthreaded but were fitted with flat tappet cams.
Primarily used in 87 - 95 trucks /vans

 

Note that it's quite possible to have A BLOCK that is equipped with the PROVISIONS for roller lifters, but not have THE PARTS themselves.

If it doesn't have the spider and all that, then to use a LT1 cam, you'll need to get all that; and change the push rods as well. They have to be about .4" shorter in the roller setup.

 

^
Did the same thing when my 305 started knockin, simply used a stock LT1 cam I got for $10 along with the lifters, spider tray, dogbones, retainer plate (from my 305), and a new set of custom length pushrods (block was decked at some point) and a new timing set and put all of the above in a low mileage reman 4 bolt truck 350 that was equipped with an unknown flat tappet setup (not the ideal cam for a 350 as far as performance goes but it was cheap and I knew it would work with the factory TPI setup on top)

 

Make sure you remember to either shorten or tap the dowel in on the front of the cam to the length of the dowel on the cam you are removing (LT1 cams have longer dowel pins to drive the optispark dist which will hit the timing cover on a gen 1 engine)

 

Did u like the performance it gave u??

 

pull the valve cover, you might be able to see the lifters through an oil drain back hole, easier than pulling an intake

 

tjtaylor has it right. Take the valve cover off and look down the pushrod and drainback holes. You can see the retainers and the spider that way if it is a roller.

 

If you're absolutely sure that 305 is the original motor from an 89 Firebird, it should be roller. All f-body V8 motors from 87-92 got the roller setup, whether they were TBI or TPI. However, if somebody swapped a truck 305 motor in that Firebird at any point in time, it could easily be a flat tappet block.

 

could go either way actually, I've had both, each were 4 bolt truck blocks with the bosses cast into them, one had em tapped despite being an origional flat tappet block, one did not..

 

If that was a question for me it's hard to say for lack of comparison, however a factory LT1 cam in a 350 isn't at all extreme or much of an upgrade from a factory L98 cam, good choice for the price as an upgrade for a 305 considering the $ of aftermarket roller cams. I simply used it since it was dirt cheap and I wanted to use the factory roller setup since I already had all the parts but didn't want to put the 305 cam in the 350, lacked funds for a better cam, and knew it would run decent with the factory prom.

 

So if it is a roller block would I still have to change the pushrods as well?

 

Push rod length selection goes with the type of lifters, not with the type of block.

Let's give you a quick run-down of the situation:

You can have a block that's fully equipped for roller lifters. Such a block can have either roller or flat lifters in it. An original 305 TBI block from a Camaro would fall into this category.

You can also have a block that's the same casting # as a roller block and has the provisions, but they aren't fully machined. Such a block would have to have flat lifters in it. A 305 TBI from a truck or full-size car may fall into this one, as well as 350 TBI motors.

You could also have a block that pre-dates the existence of the factory roller system. Obviously this type would only have flat lifters.

Any of the multiple LT1 cams will only work with roller lifters, and therefore will only work in a fully-prepped roller block with roller lifters on it.

Roller lifters are about .4" taller than flat ones, therefore push rods in a roller setup are .4" shorter since everything else is all the same size.

The ONLY WAY to know FOR SURE what you have, is to LOOK AT THE PARTS. The block "codes" WILL NOT tell you what kind of lifters are in it now, if the block CASTING falls into category #1 up above. You might be able to see take off your intake and look down into a hole and see. You could also pull out a push rod and measure it; if it's about 7.8" long you have flat lifters, if it's about 7.4" you have rollers.