Sonar_un

Yeah, I am pretty excited..

My305camaro

I am swapping my cam out for an LT1 on either Tue or Wed of next week...just waiting for all the install stuff to get here. I have heard this is a great swap, btw what year did yours come out of?

Sonar_un

It was outta a '96 T/A w/ 51K on the odometer.

My305camaro

Mine was out of a 94...I was also planning on writing a tech article on cam swaping. I think with as many people are doing the swap I could help alot of us TBI-ers out. I figure it couldn't take that much longer to write down some how to notes while I do it. You don't know how to submit one do you?

Good luck on your swap!! btw, nice hood!

Sonar_un

Well.... I don't know exactly how to write one.. if there is a proper format or anything..

all I know, is that I will be taking a BUNCH of real high res pics. Then I can take notes on each of the steps on the install. I figure I could peice something together for the TBIers

My305camaro

We might have to combine our efforts. With both of us writing an install guide we ought to get it right. I had thought about taking pics but I don't know about you but I seem to get really dirty really quick when I mess with my engine and exspenisive digital camera plus grease and cam lube = not so good I guess some else could take the pics. btw are you degreeing your cam? I bought Comp Cam's Degreeing Kit because I didn't want to screw something up. I guess it isn't necessary just wondering if I just blew $135 bucks!

Shoot me an e-mail if your interested about the tech article!

If a moderator could chime it on this...just wondering how to submit on.

Sonar_un

well.. I had orignally not decided to degree the cam..but after reading the Best Damn Garage's cam installation guide, I began to wonder if I should or not.

My305camaro

That is the site that I posted on a different thread. I have a friend who is an ASE certified master mechanic. He said that he would recomend doing it because one, unless you know the guy you bought the cam from it might not be an LT1 and two if you screw up in the least with the cam timing you will have to time the car by ear because the H. dampener will be off. He agreeed with the site that a few degrees is worth some serious HP if you screw it up. For me, that was all I needed to hear. I don't know when you are doing your swap, but I will probably be selling my degree kit after the swap bacause I don't plan to put in another cam for a while. I'm not 100% sure I am going to sell it, but if you are interested let me know.

My305camaro

Still, I hated to see that money go for tools instead of something that makes the car faster

Sonar_un

yeah.. well...

I am 95% sure its an LT1 cam. I wonder if I could check it with the casting numbers or something. There are some numbers on the cam.

I probabally know a guy with a cam degreeing kit. Hopefully he will be helping me install the cam also.

bbtaz97

iTrader: (3)

there are alot of peoplre that could use a tech article on installing an lt1 cam , it would be a great help to alot of people if the 2 of you cold wrute one and post it on this site..

Minion

How do you 'degree a cam?' if I may ask?

My305camaro

http://www.cranecams.com

Click on "HOW TO" the scroll down to "DEGREEING A CAMSHAFT...THE EASY WAY"

It is very detailed...also when you buy a cam degreeing kit it will come with instuctions. I just got my Comp Cams degreeing kit today in the mail, it is really nice. About to watch the how to video

Tas

This will be the official "Thread of the Week" to be taken down fri March 8th

My305camaro

Since this thread has reached the esteemed status of THREAD OF THE WEEK You guys can shoot me some ideas on stuff that a new LT1 cam tech article should include. Would pics be helpful?(not really excited about mixing exspensive cameras with grease and assembly lube but if it would help...) Should it be complete from start to finish (i.e. instructions on how to take all the related stuff off as well as cam itself) or asume that someone who is attempting a cam swap can take off the manifold, radiator, etc.? I will be starting the swap on either Tue or Wed. of next week and I'll post my progress up and let the TBI-ers who are thinking about the swap how it is.

But please shoot me some ideas about what you think it should include...

Matt

JPrevost

Pictures are always good but I don't think a cam swap is all the complicated. You shouldn't do the swap yourself unless you already know a little about engines, like how easy it is to damage a cam bearing by jamming the cam in crooked.
Have a friend take pictures.
A start to a tech article would include steps like removoing air cleaner,TB and fuel lines. Remove the radiator and anything you can see that would be in the way of removing the cam straight out. Removing the radiator (drain fluid) is NOT a hard job, you just need to be SUPER careful not to bang it around or you'll crack a tube and leak coolant which isn't cool. Take off the belt and pulleys from the crank and water pump. Remove dissy cap and lay off on the windshield or behind engine. Remove dissy. Clean all debree off of intake manifold so nothing initially falls into intake runners on the heads! Unbolt support brackets for accessories. Unbolt intake manifold and remove. Clean the heads being careful not to scratch off any of the old intake gasket into the heads. Duct tape over the heads intake runner ports right after removal of intake manifold. Unbolt and remove valve covers. Loosen the rocker arms and pull out pushrods, be careful with them. Lift out lifters and place them in oil (depending on how long the swap is going to take you, you might not need to store them). Pull the harmonic balancer with the special puller tool you can get at any auto parts store, you'll need it to install it again. The next step might require you to jack up the engine by lowering the tranny (unbolting the crossmember with a jack under the tailshaft. The engine should want to fall backwards, if it doesn't you're not on level ground, if anything you want to have the front of the car jacked up on wheel ramps, this will ensure enough room. Next step is to remove the timing chain cover, this would be a sinch if not for the oil pan getting in the way. You need to loosen the bolts on the oil pan to drop the front enough to completely remove the timing chain cover and timing chain (might need a puller depending on the age/wear of the chain). Get a few long bolts from the hardware store that thread into the end of the cam or get a cam pulling tool from a friend/local shop. Remove the cam real careful and straight, very important to be straight! After the cam is out of the engine, drop it on the floor and stomp on it cursing GM for ever installing such a wimpy cam into a small block v8 chevy f-body!!!! Be creative .
Install the new cam and reassemble engine.
It's really not a complicated process like swapping in a stroker crank while in car. Is that even possible? Anyways, if you plan on changing the cam you might want to change the springs and the timing chain. To change the timing chain is just like removal, just install it, duh. The springs are a little more tricky. You need to get an air tool spark plug to air adaptor. Pump pressured air into the cylinder, carefully use a spring compressing tool with a nice leverage arm to push the springs down so you can remove the little 2 piece locks on the end of the valve. The locks just come apart, they're held in by the valve spring. Be careful not to push down on the valve or you'll have to go fishing for the valve by turning the crank and grabbing it with your finters and pulling it back up, turn the air off while doing that. It isn't fun so don't hit the valves themselves!!! Remove the valve spring compressor and junk the springs, replace them with the new springs and repeat process and install the locks on the end of the valve, good to go. This takes the most time because you're changing the springs without removing the heads and it's a PITA getting to all the spark plug holes with the air compressor adaptor piece.
Wow, would you believe I haven't even done this swap before! At least you know I'm thinking about it .
If you've got something to add to this tech article, let me know in this post. Oh, if you couldn't tell, this was for doing the Lt1 cam swap in a TBI vehicle with the engine IN CAR! If you didn't pick up on that from the beggining then you shouldn't be doing the cam swap by yourself!

91Firecrow305TBI

Hey My305Camaro, I noticed you live in Yorktown, I am in Hampton, and have already done this swap. Want an extra hand? Either way, I'd love to see your car in person. I am going to up to the drag strip March 22nd, If you want to get some times feel more than welcome to come. All Locals invited

Sonar_un

Wow.. Thread of the Week... I feel soooo proud! *crys*

Anyway, I am planning on having a bunch of well versed gearheads/mechanics with me when I do the swap. One of em can take pics I'll even let them use my $1000 camera, but if they decide to do that, they are not touching the engine!

This will be great, Now I have even more of a reason to get this cam in soon. My schedule is opening up pretty soon, so I should have some time.

brodyscamaro

i think i am gonna slide mine right in a couple weeks during spring break. i was gonna do all engine mods at once, but i cant wait

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

It's not necessary to tilt the engine. The cam will just clear the two rods that cross in a "X" pattern in front. We had to rotate the cam a little and it slipped in. The a/c was evacuated of freon and condenser removed. Some just carefully set it to one side, but you risk damaging the aluminum lines. Good luck, Lon.

AJ_92RS

Just a couple additions to Jon's detailed instructions (why he hasn't made a tech article from that alone, we'll never know ).

When you remove the pushrods and lifters, they should return to their original locations. Keep them organized while they're out of the engine. This is more important on the lifters then the pushrods because the lifters will have made their size/shape known to the lifter bore they were removed from. Not saying that the engine won't run if their in a diff. bore, but it'll ensure they won't have anymore drag on them than before they came out.

The reason for the pushrods is basically the same reason, but applies to the contour of the dimple in the rocker arm seating properly with the pushrod tip that was originally in it. Plus I'm sure it would apply to the dimple in the lifter also.

So make sure they all are returned to the same spots. Better safe than sorry.

And last, but not least. Make sure you install new O-rings on the valves also. Probably cost about $2 for a package of them. Install them AFTER you compress the spring/retainer with a small drop of oil. Then install the keepers. Don't ask how I found this out.

Then, after you get the keepers (I think Jon called them locks) in the the grooves, and release the tension off the spring, WAP them valve tips a few times, pretty good with a plastic or rubber head Dead Blow mallet/hammer. NO METAL HAMMERS ALLOWED More of a quick tap, rather than a strong hit. This will insure that the keepers are fully seated into the retainer and groove.

These are more tricks-of-the-trade than true "Tech" stuff, but learning from mistakes is how you obtain these tricks.

AJ

scooter92zo3

I am new to TBI,I have a 92 Zo3 heritage,5 speed,they seem to peter out at 3 grand or so,what can I do to get some ooommph here,help me guys!!! I have an 84 monte carlo SS,600 holley,1.6 rockers and billet distributor,kicks butt,but I am new to the tbi scene

pimpintheRS

should be doing this swap in a few hours will let you guys know how it went...
Shawn

My305camaro

Thanks for the input Jon...I have done a cam swap before (engine pulled) and I know that it isn't the MOST difficult thing in the world, but I thought that people who were thinking about doing a cam swap in-car for the first time, or just wanted to see what it involved would apprieshiate a tech article. I have recieved several e-mails regarding this swap and suggestions to make the article as effective as possible and I welcome the help. I also thought that I could include part numbers specific to 87' and up OE roller cams to limit further questions on "what do I need" or "how do I" cam questions that I am sure get repetative for you guys to answer. Thanks for the help!

Matt

brodyscamaro

how much gain in the quarter would the LT1 cam and weiand intake make on my combo(stock exhaust still on the car)

My305camaro

I'm not really sure...but I am installing mine tommorrow and will be going to the track on the 15th to test it out and I'll be posting results then.

DM91RS

My305.....are you going to be running the stock LO3 heads?

Sonar_un

I am planning on going to the track on Friday and get some peliminary track times. My car is bone stock except for a ram air hood and open element air filter (non K&N) I have the stock manifolds, and stock exhaust so I should be able to find out how much an LT1 cam really does.

I am going to have before and after times for the cam swap, that is all I am doing. Nothing else.

My305camaro

I am planning on keeping my stock heads for now becaue I ran out of money. BTW...

I started the swap today after lunch so here is an update:

I worked for about 5 hours and I now have everything torn down, and the new cam in I stopped for dinner before starting to swap in all the springs and degree the cam. I should easily finish tomorrow.

My timing chain was REALLY lose. I could not believe the slack it had...the new chain however is so tight that I barely got it on. That in itself has been worth the swap. Everything has gone really smoothly and I have been taking notes for the tech article. I'll post the results tommorrow when I take her for a spin

brodyscamaro

thats sweet, cant wait till monday when i start on mine

Vader

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the first post says it all.

Call Comp Cams (1-800-999-0853) and request a catlog #106. It will have more camshaft information than you'll ever need, from lobe design to installation to degreeing to selection, yada...

My305camaro

I know that there are many other places one can use to find the how to's of putting in a cam. I just thought thirdgen would benift from being one of those places...plus I plan on making the article as thirdgen specific as possible including part #'s and e.t. improvement. This sould answer 90% of the LT1 cam questions asked on the board.

BTW Vader...If you could e-mail me that chart of lft and duration specs for LT1 cams...I would like to include that in the article.

Thanks

JokerRS

Sonar_un, it will be interesting to see how much power just the cam by its self adds. However, as you are probably aware, it is one part of a package that wont see its full potential with out the rest of the package. I guess I'm thinking that you might be dissapointed if you are running a bone stock exhaust. I got more of a power increase from headers and a full exhaust then I got from my LT1 cam and performer TBI intake that I installed togather. But still they all ad up to a nice increase in power. Good luck with the cam swap.

brodyscamaro

do you know what you are running in the 1/4?

Sonar_un

Oh yeah, I deffinitely know that by putting a larger cam in the engine, I am going to get no where near the performance gains other people do. That doesn't bother me, because when I replace the exhaust, I should get a greater than normal gain It will all come together in the end anyway :P

The stock exhaust is CRAP. I often refer to my "Y" pipe as a "T" pipe, because thats EXACTLY what it looks like Hmm.. I wonder if there is any restriction there. HAHA

My305camaro

Update on the LT1 cam install...

Unfortunately I got called into work this afternoon and had to stop really early so I didn't get to fire it up. But I did completely swap all the springs and valve seals, degree the cam, check piston to valve clearance, and re-intall the timing cover. BTW the spring swap is slow tedious work but I could compress the factory springs with my hands they were so worn...so I guess it was worth it. I can't wait until tommorow...a few more thing to wrap up and then plenty of :rockon:

Sonar_un...joker is right about the "complete package" deal. The biggest cam in the world will not make a huge difference if the intake system can't suck the air to feed it, and the exhuast can't empty the charge quick enough. The cam swap alone for me will yeild a greater change in e.t. than it will for you because of my other mods. But, as you go on to do other things they will yeild greater improvements because it will complement the total package...I have to get one of those hoods

My305camaro

I almost forgot...I talk to Comp Cams today and they said roller cams have no break-in time and require no asembly lube on the lobes. They recomended to ue asembly lube only on the distributor gear and fuel lobe (which we don't have). The cam and lifters should be coated in oil before installation They recomend changing the oil after 100 miles to clear the system of any contaminates that enter the engine during the swap. Just thought I'd shoot that little nugget of knowledge out

My305camaro

The cam is in and it runs great!! :rockon:

I had one small problem...I was a tooth off on the distributor on the first try, but that was easy enough to solve. It runs great and sounds even better. It's a really low aggresive grumble and the car now pulls strong up to 5500. It actually idles better than before because of the new timing chain. I would definatly recommend this swap to anybody. Biggest seat-of-the-pants difference yet, and I can't wait to get to the track on the 15th to try it out. I'll post the results when I get them, but I am shooting for the 14.6-14.7 area. The ecm hasn't flashed any unsuspected trouble codes...just the egr code I get every time I clear the codes by disconnecting the battery. No other codes yet, and it pulls a strong steady vaccum at idle, 18-19psi.

I have plenty of notes for the tech article, but I'll probably wait to submit it until after I get some track results to include with it.

Sonar_un

Thats great!!

I am in mid process of the cam install, and things are going all to hell. What do you expect when you have a newbie doing all the work. Yesterday, I had a new southern thirdgen gathering at my house. Everyone was helping me and I got almost nowhere

I had planned on taking pics, but so many people were doing all different things, I forgot to do any of it.

but I can read over your tech article and help revise it if need be.