im having a little dificulty selecting what cam i want to run with the lt1 top end. i have an 86 non roller block that has been worked over to a mild 383. i will be getting around 9:1 compression and i want a good sound to the cam but more importantly good performance. the car has just a few bolt ons right now but will be growing as my little brother gets older and becomes more comftortable with it but i dont want to be changing cams in and out. i will be doing a complete lt1 top end along with a dist. in the intake instead of opti spark. but i need a cam for computer controlled car and i was looking at comps extreme energy 296 i think for lt1 cars specifically but i dont know if they have the gear for the dist. what do you guys think. i was looking towards 112lsa.

 

no one? i found out that the lt1 cams still have dist. gears so i am thinking about comp cams extreme energy 296 i believe it is. another thing im wondering is with it being a non roller block can i still use the lt1 roller set up. they have round lifter bores i think but just use a spider that bolts down in the middle of the block to hold the lifters.

 

You have to use a retrofit roller setup if you want to use a roller cam - they cost around $300.

Also, make sure those "LT1" cams you are talking about really do have the gear on the back and it isn't a "Stock Photo" of another cam. Personally, I think looking at "LT1 Cams" is a mistake, you have a SBC Gen1, not an LT1. You can use just about any cam in that block you want. Besides, I think cams meant for the LT1 have a *** on the end that you have to mess with to get to fit anyways.... why go through that???

Look into the XFI series.

 

do i need to worry about having a cam for a computer controlled car. or can i just get any cam that i want. i saw some footnotes on some cams that say not for computer controlled vehicles

 

The 9:1 compression will roughly tell you what your limitations are. I'd go no bigger than the 224-230(I think it's the 274h).