I head home from college on the 22 and prep the car to tear it down probably the 26 or 27th. I'm using my friend's garage since he has the air compressor and tools so the date isn't pinned down yet. This is what I have so far and all that I plan to pick up.

Bought and in the basement:
LT1 cam (97 z28 if i remember, bought it a while ago)
305 TpI heads Casting 081
Edelbrock open element with a 3 in K&N filter (on there already)
Flowmaster 80 series 3" in-2.5" out
TPI fuel pump and strainer

Planning to pick up:
Hedman hedderes with 3" piping, no cat to a muffler off a 99 SS (paid for just waiting for my buddy to get it off his car within the next week)
Valve Springs, Comp cams 981-16
Gaskets (though a needed list would be appreciated)
160* Thermostat
Adjustable fuel pressure regulator from TDSolutions.com
Timing Chain
Custom chip from TBIchips (comment if you feel the need but I'm in college and need the car to run, I'll pick up the proper equipment when I get the money and time)
Oil/Coolant/RTV, etc.

Plus I plan to do the ultimate tbi mods as well.

I just want to know if I'm forgetting anything . If you can think of it that i would need to do this, let me know. Also, I know plenty have done this and there is plenty of info on how do to it so I don't need that but any little tips to think of would be appreciated. Also, my friend and I are doing this for the first time so we're guess about a week to get it all done, does that seem reasonable? Also, I've been trying to find numbers on this set up such as HP and torque, i know i've seen estimates but can't remember them. Any rough estimated on that would help.

 

Since you are changing heads/cam/gaskets/springs.

I would suggest getting a pushrod lenght checker. There is a chance your pushrods may not be the right lenght now.

before you put the new heads on, if you haven't you should also consider at least pinning the studs. with the new valve springs, there is a chance of pulling a rocker stud.

 

Can you explain both of those a little bit. Would i need to replace all the push rods if they aren't the right height.

 

yes, if they are not correct, you would need to order pushrods of the correct lenght. Basicly, the length of the pushrod determines the orientation of the rocker at , if it is too far off, then the rocker arm does not sit squarly on the valve stem.

 

What intake manifold are you using? The stock one will choke that combo big time.

 

I'm planning on adding the Performer RPM TBI intake manifold once i get the 250 for it. I'm a little strapped for this upgrade down (been planning since august) so the manifold will have to wait for now.

 

There is a gasket list in the LTY1 cam digest up in one of the stickies. That should help you with the install. Just a recap though, here is what you will need.

RTV
Gasket scraper (sufaces must be cleared off all old gasket material)
Timing chain gasket set (comes with water pump gaskets)
Intake manifold set (comes with thermostant and distrubutor)
Good time to replace the TBI gasket and inspect valve cover gaskets.

 

to save a little money in budget, could i get away with not picking up the vafpr immediately or is that a pretty key part that i'll need almost right away?

 

what is vafpr

 

vacuum adjustable fuel pressure regulator. anyone have any input on this?

 

what does the vafpr do?

 

basically it adjusts the fuel pressure going to the injectors. the stock one keeps a constant pressure but you can make that adjustable. the vafpr adjusts the fuel pressure with changes in manifold vacuum so that the pressure at WOT is more than at idle.

 

You don't need the Vafpr anyways. Just make sure you get the prom tuned up right. You can easily control the fuel at idle and WOT with one set pressure. I wouldn't even bother with the vacuum adjustable unit, it'll just make tuning more difficult I would think.

 

Okay, I've been looking around and decided just to make the stock fpr adjustable but I need some information. Does anyone know an threads about changing heads or have a good write-up on how to do it, otherwise i'll be going from chilton's and i'm a little caustious about that.