Hey, I just swapped out my 700 R4 for a t-r on my 88 GTA w/ a 305 TPI. From what I've heard I prob. have a p-nut cam. What kinda cam do you guys suggest for good performance? I've heard to use a factory LT1 cam, but is that an exact swap? I also want something with a good tone to it to. I like the sound of a smooth chop, but hey, performance comes over sound right? Thanks

 

Im going with a ZZ4 cam in my 305. Welcome to the boards by the way! anyway, its got a little more lift then the LT1, but i belive the LT1 has a tad more durration. oh well. the ZZ4 cam was cheap, 120 shipped to my house, brand new.

 

depends what u want? an LT1 cam would be a nice little upgrade but on the other cam u could get a 2032HR or a zz4 etc.

 

Depends on what gring of LT1 cam you get. There are a few different ones, some of which are not quite as crap as the peanut cam.

For a 305 I'd be going with something along the lines of

214° /220° 0452"/.456"

 

Ok, so say I decided on the zz4 corvette cam. What, if anything, extra would I need to do the install. Havnt talked anything like this before, but a friend of mine is a mechanic and helps me a lot. Just wondering, thanks

 

Of course you'll want to do the basics like new roller timing chain, new gaskets, new lifters, etc. There's really nothing much else that would save you time on any other mods to do them now except runners and a new lower intake, along with porting the plenum. Changing the rockers could be done now too, but those are so easy to do on these cars it doesn't "have" to be done at this time.

 

Do you guys know where I could get maybe a kit or something with all the parts needed for the change over. I cant really find anywhere. I think I'm gonna go with the zz4

 

COOL! welcome to the soon to be club!

Im gunan go with the Pro Mag RR's. They look stronger, and i heard wont have faults in it like alum. rr's would. As for the new lifters, you dont need them unless they are worn. Maybe a new set of push rods, but maybe not. And im looking for a good roller chain. Anyone have any suggestions on one?

 

You can try to find it in a kit, but I ended up finding the gaskets separately locally for under $25.

You will need:

• Timing cover gasket
• Water pump gasket
• Intake manifold to head gaskets
• Intake manifold runner gaskets (usually come in sets for plenum to runner and runner to base)
• Valve cover gaskets
• Distributor gasket

Double check what comes with each gasket set. Usually the WP gasket comes with the timing gasket, so that will save you like 30 cents from buying the WP gasket separate. The distributor gasket should come in the intake manifold set... Just open the box and peek through it to make sure before you leave the parts store.

Just thought of something else... If you have higher mileage on your engine, you'll probably be better off replacing... water pump. WP should be under $25 or so.

BigAl, I've used the Summit Racing double roller timing chain for years in many other vehicles. IIRC, it's under $40...

 

thanks man. I see the little warning saying " Not for use on roller cams"... I have a gasket set i got on ebay for like $35. It was plenum/runner gaskets, tb gasket(2 of them), intake manifold gasket, O rings for the injectors, dist. gasket, and..... something more, but i havent look at it in a long time. it was a good deal. All Fel-Pro gaskets, very high quality... i dont know how good of a quality you can get on these things, but they seem pretty dam nice.

 

cool, well, I had my engine rebuilt about 5 k miles ago so, I dont think I need to really worry about my rods, etc. So, all in all I really just need the cam, gaskets, and roller timing chain?

 

Whats the major difference between the ZZ4 and LT1 Cams?

Im generally just looking for something that runs good as a street car, but sounds mean when your stopped and idling.