i wanna put a new cam in my LB9 and i was wonderin what u would recommend for other valvetrain upgrades...my car has 55k miles and runs good...next year i plan on putting on new heads...do i need new lifters and springs and rockers, etc? i need some advice, thanks a lot for help
-im thinkin that since im probably putting a production cam (lt4) in, i can use production valvetrain parts which i have, or replace them with brand new stock, since they only have to perform for a year or 2 max...hm

 

Definitely get a better set of valve springs, and match them up with the lift of your cam. A too soft of a valve spring will cause valve float at high rpm's and can possibly break. You don't want that !!

Since your car has a roller cam, you can reuse the lifters if they are still in good shape. But if they tend to bleed down and don't hold oil very well... then just get a new set from Comp, Crane, etc. If you do re-use the stock lifters (Like I did), just check the roller and make sure there's no damage and make sure it rolls freely, you'll be all set.

For pushrods I recommend a set of Comp Cams with welded tips (instead of pressed tips, sometimes those can break off). Get a set of Comp Cams 7 degree valve locks, and some Comp Cams retainers. (Or Crane, Lunati, whatever brand you prefer)

I also recommend a double roller timing setup, like the one from Summit. Thats the one I have on my car and the quality is very good. Make sure you DON'T run a geardrive because the knock sensor will retard you timing and you'll lose horsepower.

For rocker arms, as long as the tips don't have excessive wear, I would still re-use them (I also reused mine). Since your car is an '88 and has centerbolt valve covers, roller rockers are very expensive for our cars. But if you have the money then you should get them.

Good luck

 

As far as the springs go, make sure they are 1.25" springs. I'm pretty sure thats the stock width. If not, then its 1.23". Not too sure, probably gonna have to look this one up. Any wider, then its off with the heads, and into a machine shop for wider ones. This is very important. oh, make sure the retainers match the spring width too.

 

so could i use the same size springs as i have now? what are good springs to use? if i need bigger springs, do i need to have head work done to fit em?

 

Yea you can still use the same diameter springs.

If you go with a larger diameter, you'll have to get the heads machined so they can fit.

BTW what size cam do you want to run? Mine is 210/220 duration at .050 and 480/480 lift and I run stock diameter springs.

 

i have a ZZ4 cam... what size springs? and can i give them to the guys that are rebuiding my heads?

 

im looking into an lt4...what kind of springs do u recommend?