I know....another "will this cam work" thread. I've read a ton of posts about upgrading the cam but none with my exact setup. I'm not overly familiar with cams so I could use some advice. So here goes...

I have a bone stock, 40K original mile 1984 Trans Am, with the LG4 305 motor. The car has its factory carb, factory 700-R4 trans, factory exhaust manifolds and exhaust, and factory 3.08 rear end.

Block casting #14010201
Heads casting #14014416

The car sat for 18 years, and when the previous owner fired it up, they didn't prep it properly, and a couple stuck lifters resulted in a broken pushrod. I have the engine out and am in the process of repairing that, but while I have it out, I'm considering replacing the cam and lifters because I've read that I can get a bit more pep out of the rather anemic 305.

Are the heads I've listed acceptable with this new cam?

While I am asking...is there a recommendation for new pushrods in terms of brand?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I had a very similar Federal Mogul cam in my 1983 G20 van when it still had the stock 305. It was a LE9 305 with factory flat top pistons and 14022601 heads. At the time it still had the factory tubular stainless manifolds and factory dual 2.25" exhaust. I did upgrade the intake to an edelbrock performer rpm and ran a tweaked Q-jet on it. Had a 700r4 and 3.08 gears. Power was better EVERYWHERE in the power band.

As far as the heads go, I did upgrade my springs to some generic "Z/28" springs. Basically they are made by many aftermarket companies and are single springs designed to drop into the stock spring pockets and are about 110-115 lbs pressure at the seat and roughly 260 lbs open pressure. I deleted the valve rotators and shimmed the heads accordingly.

Honestly speaking in your lightweight car I would go with a little more cam and make it a single pattern grind. Something along the lines of a Crane 260 or 272. I have had 2 different 305s running the 216/216 @ .050, .454/.454 grind cams and they perform very well and have a nice thumpy idle that is still very stable. Just swap out your torque converter for a 4.3 CPI S10 converter to get it up into its powerband quicker. The cam you mention is a 70s grind designed to help a stock 8:1 350 move a heavy truck or RV or the like. It is absolutely DONE at 4,500 rpm.

 

Here's a video of my 85 Z28 LG4 with a K1103 cam;

https://youtu.be/Fle9A6RC1E8

The cam runs just fine.

Good Luck

 

K1102 in 84 LG4 with 700R4 and 3:08 rear provided me with just a hint of thump at idle but better power and response everywhere. I used the Elgin Z28 springs, shimmed without the rotators. I also use a bigger, TPI exhaust and the L69 converter. Did suffer some mileage, I average around 18-19 in it vs the 20ish it used to get.

 

Here ya go, save you some time and hassle. '86 305 + 30, Racer Brown EH4...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/mid-...ck-recent.html

 

I used the k1103 on an LG4 once and it made a good bit more power. While you are at it go with headers and 3" exhaust. The factory exhaust chokes the engine bad in the first place.