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Tech / General EngineIs your car making a strange sound or won't start? Thinking of adding power with a new combination? Need other technical information or engine specific advice? Don't see another board for your problem? Post it here!
Looking to see my cam options on my 87 camaro iroc 350 it's been converted to carb. I would say it's stock in all aspects but would like to put a mild cam in it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
You WILL need valve springs: don't EVEN hallucinate that you can "get by" with stock ones. About the cheeeepest way to go would be these springs & retainers. Set them up at 1.800" installed height, with no oil splash shields or rotators of course. Use the FelPro "positive" seals on both intake and exhaust; don't bother with "umbrella" type or the O-rings.
You WILL need valve springs: don't EVEN hallucinate that you can "get by" with stock ones. About the cheeeepest way to go would be these springs & retainers. Set them up at 1.800" installed height, with no oil splash shields or rotators of course. Use the FelPro "positive" seals on both intake and exhaust; don't bother with "umbrella" type or the O-rings.
From: Franklin, KY near Beech Bend Raceway, Corvette Plant and Museum.
Car: 1992 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: 5.0L L03 TBI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 2.73
Re: Cam suggestions
Originally Posted by Chaddyboy
Looking to see my cam options on my 87 Camaro IROC-Z 350 it's been converted to carb. I would say it's stock in all aspects but would like to put a mild cam in it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Are you saying the L98 engine is stock in all aspects other than the TPI and distributor being swapped or the entire car is stock in all aspects including the engine?
Is the exhaust system stock? If not give some details of what you have on it now.
Last edited by Airwolfe; Mar 13, 2025 at 04:32 PM.
I'm being told that cam is to big and I would need more lift
Whoever told you that, needs not to be listened to. Not least because, it's internally inconsistent with itself; "big" = "more lift". Butt also because, if you still have the stock heads, the valves can open only just so far, before the retainers crash into the top of the guides; which is the absolute hard upper limit to how much "more lift" you can have. Something around .525" is the end of the line which is why I suggested that one. However if you want one a bit smaller you could go with this https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-8801 or https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-8800.
Are you saying the L98 engine is stock in all aspects other than the TPI and distributor being swapped or the entire car is stock in all aspects including the engine?
Is the exhaust system stock? If not give some details of what you have on it now.
yes the 350 is now converted to carb and yes i have eldebrock long tube headers with flowmaster cat back system
From: Franklin, KY near Beech Bend Raceway, Corvette Plant and Museum.
Car: 1992 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: 5.0L L03 TBI
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 2.73
Re: Cam suggestions
I like the 8802 cam you suggested for him for a stock L98 converted to carb. Agree about the rotators, splash shields, and valve stem seals. Don't know about the other stuff because I didn't look at it. You know what you are talking about there so I didn't bother with thinking about it.
I was going to suggest a 2200 to 2500 RPM HD lock-up stall convertor and some exhaust upgrades to go with it. At the very least get rid of the horrible factory T merge pipe before the cat and go with the nice Magnaflow 16450 Y merge piece for single cat H.O. exhaust systems.
There's no such thing AFAIK. Edelbrock (yes, I'm gonna take that leap of faith) doesn't make "long tube headers" and never has AFAIK. They did at one time offer their "TES" (Tubular Exhaust System) butt it wasn't "long tubes". It had very short tubes, with the flanges that went to its crossover pipe, very close to the stock location.
Nonetheless, it was a SIGNIFICANT improvement over the stock manifolds and Y-pipe, although it left ALOT to be desired in terms of overall optimization. Their Y-pipe in particular was kinda crudely made and left alot to be desired. Dyno Don used to supply a replacement for that for certain models, not sure if he still does.
I STRONGLY agree with Airwolfe's converter suggestion. Depending on what gears you have now, which since they're most likely 3.27 if they haven't been changed which makes it easier since they're 3 series, upgrading those might also be a true game-changer. Anything that lets the engine get up out of the idle RPM range will help it produce more USEABLE and FEELABLE (is that a word?) power.
The Eddy Y-pipe design was crud where the two pipes combined.
The metal was very poor quality and usually rusted and pitted quickly.
Don's look much much better than the original design IMO.
High resolution picture. Click on it and zoom in on the horrible crimped in Y merge.
The stock Edelbrock Y-pipe for their TES headers was absolute hot garbage. The 2 into 1 Y merge was horrible. Dyno Don's is an order of magnitude better.
Below is @Dyno Don much improved Y-pipe design for the Edelbrock TES headers. I believe there are more than one design for the Edelbrock headers that fit 3rd gens. Need to verify with Don which set you have and if they will fit his replacement Y-pipe.
Last edited by Airwolfe; Mar 14, 2025 at 01:48 AM.
Don is getting up there in years and trying to retire. Can't say I blame him for that. He's backing off of all that stuff he used to do. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/exha...n-headers.html for example. If he still makes those, great; but just because Lon still has a page for them on his web site, is no guarantee that Don is still making them. Might be worth asking though.
Yup. Check w Don himself. Not sure that just because something is on Lon's (top down) site, that Don is actually making it. Not that Lon is lying or anything, just, go to the source. You might well find for example that there's a minimum order quantity before he'll even start anything, or some such. Another way to reach him might be, Kevin 91Z that used to be on this site alot, lives out in OC and knows Don, and is able to talk to him directly sometimes. Might be worth PMing him.
There's no such thing AFAIK. Edelbrock (yes, I'm gonna take that leap of faith) doesn't make "long tube headers" and never has AFAIK. They did at one time offer their "TES" (Tubular Exhaust System) butt it wasn't "long tubes". It had very short tubes, with the flanges that went to its crossover pipe, very close to the stock location.
Nonetheless, it was a SIGNIFICANT improvement over the stock manifolds and Y-pipe, although it left ALOT to be desired in terms of overall optimization. Their Y-pipe in particular was kinda crudely made and left alot to be desired. Dyno Don used to supply a replacement for that for certain models, not sure if he still does.
I STRONGLY agree with Airwolfe's converter suggestion. Depending on what gears you have now, which since they're most likely 3.27 if they haven't been changed which makes it easier since they're 3 series, upgrading those might also be a true game-changer. Anything that lets the engine get up out of the idle RPM range will help it produce more USEABLE and FEELABLE (is that a word?) power.
Regarding the headers maybe i was wrong but it does say elderbrock on them but has the pollution tube deleted.
There's no one I'm aware of (not that I'm aware of EVERYTHING) called that name you are using in the header industry.
As said, Edelbrockwww.edelbrock.com DID in fact make header systems at one time, which they called "TES" (Tubular Exhaust System), but no longer appears to; at least, there's no hint of them on their web site anymore. However they were NOT "long tubes". They were shorties, and included their own Y-pipe, all of which was designed to fit where the stock manifolds and Y-pipe are. They came in many varieties to be compatible with the stock components around them; for example the ones for carbed cars like mine had provision for the EFE valve at the pass side header exit into the Y-pipe, and they had the correct flange or other connection at the Y-pipe output to hook up to the various stock catalytic converters in our cars, which in my case, meant the 4-bolt flange. Most of them had the AIR tubes because they carried a CARB EO exemption; I don't recall if all of them did. No doubt lots of people in the other 49 states cut those off. I still have a set laying around, myself, that I bought in the early 90s sometime, which since I moved to California for awhile in about 2000 and lived there for some time, came in handy when car licensing time came around. I'm not saying you don't have Edelbrock headers; I'm merely pointing out what the correct name is, and that they are NOT long tubes.
Yup. Check w Don himself. Not sure that just because something is on Lon's (top down) site, that Don is actually making it. Not that Lon is lying or anything, just, go to the source. You might well find for example that there's a minimum order quantity before he'll even start anything, or some such. Another way to reach him might be, Kevin 91Z that used to be on this site alot, lives out in OC and knows Don, and is able to talk to him directly sometimes. Might be worth PMing him.
This topic bas certainly strayed from the title "Cam suggestions". Regardless, Yes Dyno Don still makes the y-pipe for the Edelbrock TES headers. We've had a few customers with Edelbrock headers and rusted out y-pipe, so years ago Don stepped up to supply a solution. This is why it's still on my website. All that being said I haven't yet taken any orders for these since production methods have changed, so there is a possibility they can no longer be made. I'll place any order I receive with Don and we'll find out the current status. Sorry, I can't help you with a cam recommendation.
This topic bas certainly strayed from the title "Cam suggestions". Regardless, Yes Dyno Don still makes the y-pipe for the Edelbrock TES headers. We've had a few customers with Edelbrock headers and rusted out y-pipe, so years ago Don stepped up to supply a solution. This is why it's still on my website. All that being said I haven't yet taken any orders for these since production methods have changed, so there is a possibility they can no longer be made. I'll place any order I receive with Don and we'll find out the current status. Sorry, I can't help you with a cam recommendation.
You WILL need valve springs: don't EVEN hallucinate that you can "get by" with stock ones. About the cheeeepest way to go would be these springs & retainers. Set them up at 1.800" installed height, with no oil splash shields or rotators of course. Use the FelPro "positive" seals on both intake and exhaust; don't bother with "umbrella" type or the O-rings.
well it's been a while but I just got around to ordering all the parts..I have a few more questions as I'm getting different opionions...First do I have to cut the valve seats regarding the cam also do I need to use roller rockers or can I used my factory stamped ones..Cheers.
Not sure what this means. Please clarify what you're asking about.
do I need to use roller rockers or can I used my factory stamped ones
You can use the factory stamped-rubber CRAP if you want. Be aware though, roller-trunnion rockers will lower your oil temp by 5 - 10°F due to losing the ball flucrum thing which gets hot enough to turn the metal blue; and of course, the ACTUAL ratio of stock rockers, claimed to be 1.5, actually MEASURES anywhere from about 1.38 to 1.45 with most ACTUALLY MEASURING in the 1.43 neighborhood. And of course the sliding action of the tip of the stock rocker puts side force on the valves in the guides, which increases as the rocker's motion becomes a longer arc (i.e. higher lift). Even just switching to more rigid ball-fulcrum rockers with roller tips such as the Comp 1400 series is a MASSIVE improvement over the stock rubber ones in spite of retaining the ball fulcrum design. Avoid the chinesium knockoffs of those that you see everywhere, the pennies you might "save" aren't worth it in the long run.
Not sure what this means. Please clarify what you're asking about.
You can use the factory stamped-rubber CRAP if you want. Be aware though, roller-trunnion rockers will lower your oil temp by 5 - 10°F due to losing the ball flucrum thing which gets hot enough to turn the metal blue; and of course, the ACTUAL ratio of stock rockers, claimed to be 1.5, actually MEASURES anywhere from about 1.38 to 1.45 with most ACTUALLY MEASURING in the 1.43 neighborhood. And of course the sliding action of the tip of the stock rocker puts side force on the valves in the guides, which increases as the rocker's motion becomes a longer arc (i.e. higher lift). Even just switching to more rigid ball-fulcrum rockers with roller tips such as the Comp 1400 series is a MASSIVE improvement over the stock rubber ones in spite of retaining the ball fulcrum design. Avoid the chinesium knockoffs of those that you see everywhere, the pennies you might "save" aren't worth it in the long run.
You WILL need valve springs: don't EVEN hallucinate that you can "get by" with stock ones. About the cheeeepest way to go would be these springs & retainers. Set them up at 1.800" installed height, with no oil splash shields or rotators of course. Use the FelPro "positive" seals on both intake and exhaust; don't bother with "umbrella" type or the O-rings.
crappppl just bought all those parts to find out the last owner ripped out the 350 and put a 305 in ...ugggh does this change things much regarding power.
Might be worth asking though. 
