i have a 89 formula with a tpi 305...from what i've read the in 1989 the tpi 305 made 195hp stock..my car has cai, headers, edlebrock runners, 700r with a shift kit, what's a good cam for it? the car is going to be a daily driver, but i want a little more hp without having to do anything to the computer or heads except new springs and what not, i heard the lt1 cam is the way to go?

 

LT1 cam is a good solution. I put that in my L69 w/ TPI, and it ran very well.

 

would i have to do anything to the cam?

 

No, cam is a direct plug in. There is a little rod on the end of the cam that drives the LT1 oil pump ( I believe) that you might have to cut off or drive in a little. On mine it was fine. Assuming you have roller cam now, lifters, pushrods, etc should be fine. You could upgrade your valve springs to Z28 springs, but the ones you have might be fine. I would replace the timing chain, just because it is easy. While you are there might as well replace the valve seals too- cheap insurance.

 

i plan to replace what needs to be replaced in the heads, how far does the rod hang out? and will the stock 19lb injectors work fine? what are the differences between the lt1 cam and the l98 cam?

 

The rod sticks out maybe 1/2". Easy to cut off or drive in a little. Stock injectors will be fine. LT1 cam has more lift and duration than the L98 cam.

 

LT1 cams are very very close to a L98 cam. I would go bigger.
Also, Do a tune that won't let the car nose over on the top end. (try a stock 89 formula350 chip file to start ;-) )

 

i just want the car to pull to atlest 5000 rpms, it runs out of puff at 4000, i'm scared to go bigger, what do you mean drive in? what will the 89 formula 350 chip file do? i'm new to these tpi cars so if i'm asking stupid questions, sorry lol

 

It's not so much the cam that is limiting your power above 4k rpms. It's the intake manifold.

 

it has edlebrock runners, and a cai but i doubt that does much.

 

I agree. The LT1 cam is very close to the specs of the L98 cam. If your LB9 dosen't have the L98 style cam to start with there are a lot of other cams out there that would be a good fit besides the factory L98 cam.

If you don't want to worry too much about tuning issues find a factory L98 cam and put on some 1.6 roller rocker arms to replace the factory 1.5's. This will give you a 0.030'' increase in valve lift over the stock 1.5 ratio rocker arms.

That will give you a cam that is close to what the LT1 specs were. The L98 cam was also installed in the LB9/G92 option cars and really improved their factory performance as well.

 

will the computer throw a fit over the 1.6 rockers?

 

That's what she said...

Don't worry about going too big, just keep cam overlap in check...

 

no, but you will gain a few hp. It may gain even more if you richen the mixture after that.

 

I put a 305 in my once just to play, stock low mile long block, GM ZZ2 cam(old skewel),
full SLP headers/exhaust, ported intake, SLP runners, shiftkit, cold air and a few other things.
Ran mid 13s on street tires.

 

It's a small lift change so there should be no computer tuning issues if 1.6 rockers are used with a stock cam.

The other benefit would be you would get a constant rocker arm ratio compaired to stock. The stock lifters are stamped steel and the body isn't stiff so they flex alot. Throught the rocker arms range of motion the ratio changes because of this flexing.

For example the rocker arm may be at 1.2 for part of its motion or and then back to 1.5 then down to 1.1 and back to 1.5 again. Most of the after market rocker arms are stiffer and don't flex like the stock ones do so you would get a more consistent rocker arm ratio throught the arms entire range of motion.

 

You're car is an auto LB9. Most likely has the peanut cam on there. So IMO 1.6rr's won't do much of anything. Def go LT1 with RR's or bigger. Crane 2032 is always a good choice for a snappy LB9. Change springs too. Guarantee stocks are worn, you'll need stiffer ones with any larger cam.

 

If you're interested, I have a stock 1994 LT-1 cam in good shape, and also have a stock 1989 L98 cam in decent shape. PM if you're interested in either of them.

 

i'm leaning towards the lt1 cam, i heard the lt1 cam in the z28s were a little weaker compared to the bigger cars that came with the lt1 (caprice etc), true?

another question, the headers on my car are old and tired, the guy i got the car from has a set that came off his 83, they don't have any smog egr crap on them, will they work?

 

I am new here, and have a small amount of knowledge, but not the greatest, I couldn't find a proper thread but I am wanting to do a build on my 305 that I read in super chevy with TFS 23 175 heads and the 268xfi h13 cam and a 450 cfm carb, the question I have is aside from the valve train what would I need if anything to install this cam? any help would be great.
CS 268XFI H-13 CAM & KIT
CCA-1218-16 - COMP Cams High Energy Rocker Arms
EDL-7501 - Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap Intake Manifolds
FEL-KS2600 - Fel-Pro Gasket Kit Sets HLY-0-9776 - Holley Model 4160 Adjustable Float Carburetors MSD-8501 - MSD Ultimate HEI Kits TFS-30300002 - Trick Flow® Super 23® 175 Cylinder Heads for Small Block Chevrolet plus some headers and an oil pump

 

I don't know the exact specs for each of the LT-1 cams off the top of my head, but I would imagine the Caprice one is probably designed to produce more torque than the Z/28 version. The different heads might be part of the reason too. Surprisingly, I've heard that the cast iron heads on the Caprice LT-1's actually make more power than the aluminum heads on the f-body LT-1's. As far as those headers go, I can't see any real reason why they wouldn't work since they're set up for a 3rd gen with a SBC. Might want to check and make sure the y-pipe will work with a single 3" slip-on cat.

 

any one? lol

 

No the cams in the F-bodies and Corvettes were better. They had more duration than the truck and Caprice cams. The smaller ,lower duration cams like the truck and Caprice are better for low end torque and towing.