Ok I have a few questions here

Im getting a cam from a 93 (i think) Z28 and im wondering if anyone else is running one in a stock L98. I know lift on my stock cam is .415/.430 and isnt the LT1 something like .471? So can I use stock vavle springs from my L98? Ive also been told that it might bog down on the bottom end, true? what kind of HP/TQ gains do you think it can make? Im also getting some stock heads, but i dont think i want to get into all those questions right now.

 

All i know is that the LT1 cam is a high-choice mod for us third-genners. But me personally, I would get a custom cam As far as I know though, that cam *should* fit right in. Dont quote me though

 

only reason im doing it is because a friend is giving the cam and heads to me for free.

 

Well then by all means go for it I figured you would be paying for it, so I was just advising you to go Custom

 

The heads won't do you any good, might as well sell both and get a good cam, or more mods. If your gonna do a cam, do one thats worth your time man.

 

^Theres another idea

 

the thing is, this car isnt going to be anything special, 14.0 is all im shootin for here. and before someone jumps on me saying that a 14 isnt anything you come here and run and see for yourself, air here sucks. were only about 3700ft but weve had bracket racing on days where DA was at 7800ft. at 7800ft im surprised no one passed out. But thats why im not worried about a "good" cam

so now how can you say heads wont do me any good? theyre aluminum, i can shave like 30lbs right there, and while theyre just sitting there i can pocket port them.

 

LT1 heads wont work with regular SBC because there reverse cold and there are no water passages on them, you know the ones at the intake runner face.
These TPI can be made to run much better than 14. My friend had one which we madified and it wa even with my SS on the street when I had hotcam + LT4 heads. His bottom end and heads are stock.

 

I would def suggest a custom cam then, just because your elevation is sooo high. I believe I read in another thread, maybe advanced tech about someone trying to design a cam because his elevation was sooo high. I would think a good cam designer (Bret Bauer, Joe overton, Cam motion, Comp, Crane) should be able to hook you up with something that will better suit your needs. Also, i would not consider a cam just because you can use it with your stock valve springs. Your not gonna wanna push them to your limits anyways, they are a good thing to upgrade when doing cam swap...and really not that hard to do, and not sure expensive. I know alot of the TBI guys swap to an LT1 cam, but even off the shelf there are much better cams that will help with your goal. I know the perfect recipe for modding your car..its Forced induction(turbo or Supercharger)...these aren't affected as much by elevation and density as an NA car would be.

 

i realize that the heads have reverse coolant flow, but that is easily fixed. and i also realize they can be made to run better than a 14, you dont realize my 18 year old budget though. And a 14 is all I want to do.

And to the forced induction comment, again, 18 year old budget

 

Converting the LT1 heads to SBC is going to cost and in the end I don't think it's worth it. The LT1 cam swap is not worth the hassle IMOH, it's still a stock cam which is small. You can squeeze out some good power out of those stock heads. They are not a ristriction at this time, the real ristriction is the mile long runner on that TPI settup. Deal with the runners and get a decent cam (220-230) and I'm sure 13s wont be a problem

 

converting the heads wont cost me a dime, seeing as how theres a machine shop in the family. and if i actually go through with all of this ill get a stealth ram also, or atleast port the crap out of the TPI set up.

 

GO check out Thirdgen.org. Im not knocking the guys over here by any means because they know there stuff here too but thirdgen.org is all about those cars. The only ones that really swap an LT1 cam into there car is the 5.0 TBI guys because god knows they need all the help they can get.

 

LT1 cam is 202/207 .450/.460 with a 116 LSA
I personally wouldn't put that cam into a stock L98, I'd go with something better.
I had a bigger cam in my 305.

 

With the time and money (gaskets, oil, coolant, etc) your going to spend you might as well sell the LT1 heads and cam and get a decent/better cam and port your heads out. You also would probably have some money left over too. You can get like an LT4 hot cam for $125 on ebay......Just my 2cents

Josh