have a 94 LT1, 95 opti swap, hotcam....LT's to come later as the motor is on a stand right now. i was gonna spray the motor(100 shot max) but now im having second thoughts, not that im scared, but that i want boost, i.e. blower. i havent touched the bottom end and i know people with stock bottom ends(2 bolt mains in particular) have the strength problems when reaching high power combos. i guess i want to look into a blower but dont really wanna build the bottom end due to $$$$, and the lack thereof. whats the max boost you guys run on a stock bottom end?? 6-8 in general is what i hear due to the LT1's high compression, i guess. theres a procharger around here pushing 9 lbs on stock bottom end and its intercooled. gimme some thoughts on a good blower, and keep in mind i decided this after the hotcam install and would rather not have to go with a blower cam, and would stud the heads and get thicker head gaskets if recomended. i have seen the vortech vs procharger thread but i guess what i am looking for is more details about the available options i have.

thanks guys!

Brandon

 

I don't really know that much about the specifics, but I don't think the hotcam is going to be very good for boost, becasue it's a 112LSA. But if you already have the engine out, a cam swap's not that hard. I know, I did one yesterday. Also the hotcam's kind of a wimpy cam. Get a blower cam or something custom ground on a 114LSA.

 

The pistons are the weak link, weather you want to put a blower on it or run some spray I'd get some forged JE pistons as they are reasonbly priced and good quality.

Elaborate a little more about "motor is on the stand right now" Did you blow it up ?? take it out to put the cam in ??

Pro Chargers come with an intercooler and it's an option for Vortech. Both are good quality, it's your choice.

Marc

 

i wouldnt mind taking the cam out again. just dont wanna take apart the heads(springs, p-rods, etc.)

Marc. the motor was from a 94 f-bird, going into my truck hopefully begining of summer. thats why its on a stand, otherwise, it looks like a very clean motor(i understand it was babied by an older woman) for 60k miles. i nor my friend who are doing this buildup have never touched bottom end parts. rods, crank, pistons, thats why we didnt touch it.

i dont want some crazy boost like 15 psi, just something around 6-8 psi is enough til later.

 

hotcam has 10 degrees of more exhaust.....can you explain how the 114 LSA comes into play with the blower?

brandon

 

Lobe Seperation Angle, or LSA, basically is how long there is between the intake and exhaust valves opening. Having a tighter, numerically lower, LSA means the exhaust valve is going to start coming open sooner, thus creating more overlap and allowing your expensive boost to blow right into your headers.

Hope this helps.

 

so 2 degrees is that important huh?

would it be a bad idea to get a custom grind to the hotcam specs, but on a 114 or even a 116 LSA if thats not too extreme?

another set of questions.

what pistons to use? i like the Ross Lightweights. would some of you guys recomend them? or another brand?

i seem to remember something about the Impy SS gaskets being thicker and lowering compression, but they hold better/stronger should i lok into this also.

if im gonna replace pistons, i wanna have the block splayed, and stud the heads also. what kinda labor $$ would i be lookin at in general??

thanks
Brandon

 

Two degrees is important. Partly because LSA is in cam degrees and each cam degree equate to two crank degrees.

Head studs aren't a bad idea. New 4-bolt main caps are also a good idea, but keep in mind that this is relatively costly due to the need to align-hone the block after installing new main caps. Depends on you goals both in terms of hp and rpm. The Fel-Pro head gasket #1074 is very good for an LT1 blower combo. Thickness is 0.039", which is 0.010" less than a stock LT1 gasket.

The main cost involved here is motor R+R. Leaving that out, the next is parts. The actual cost for machine work on the block would be a couple of hundred $$$. Total cost is very dependent on exactly what parts are chosen and how much you will be doing yourself.

Rich Krause

 

Is there a reason you want to stay with these specs? The hotcam is relatively small, and even with a blower you can stick a bit of a bigger cam in. Are you worried about emissions?

The looks like this:
Hotcam - 218/228 .479/.479 112

I just helped put one of these into a (soon-to-be) blower car last Friday:
Comp Cams "Extreme" (Blower grind) - 224/236, .502/.520 114

The car is internally stock, with no other valvetrain modifications, and ran fine. Of course, it can't be revved very high until we put on new valvesprings, but I'm just trying to exphasize that you have many options here.

 

nah just a starting point. now that you mention it the 224/236 seems familiar, but i'd still like driveability as i dont wanna change cams often or even again. i wouldnt rev any higher than say 6200 anyways...so i am assuming the hotcam components like springs and such are just fine?.?.id like to leave em alone it i can get away with it.
how much does comp sell that blower grind for? same as a custom grind?

Rich,
would getting it splayed just cost more than the New 4-bolt main caps or is that waht you were getting at? as far as work being done myslef, its already on a stand. oil pan is off. someone local mentioned i should ship it off to Nu-tek. i'd do the gaskets, and studding, but cannot do ANY bottom end internals. at what point does the crank become a problem (in #'s of boost).
thats enough for now.....
i appreciate all the help guys.

Brandon

 

Installing the 4-bolt caps isn't terribly expensive. Maybe in the range of $100-150 or so. When you start talking about blower motors, you will come to see that much $$$ as "nothing". To be perfectly frank about it, when someone mentions that they are are trying to do things on a fairly tight budget in the context of installing a SC, I get a little nervous. IOW: are you really sure this what you want to do? It can get to be very expensive in no time at all.

Good luck!

Rich Krause

 

Blower will come in time. but i already have the motor out right now and dont wanna have to pay or go through removing it later to do the bottom end work. thats why i ask about pistons and bottom end work, now while its out. i expect the motor to be ready by end of summer, but still have things to get before it is up and running(headers, sensors, etc.). and i wanted the motor to last if i decided to take the blower off in the future.

Brandon

 

Brandon: makes perfect sense to me! Getting the motor in and out of a 4th gen is at best a minor PITA.

Rich Krause

 

I do have this cam in my car as we speak. The driveability is ok considering Im on the stock converter. It has a choppy idle..I love it. You will need at least a 2800 stalled converter unless your a stick. Like said above I am on the stock springs and rockers but this will all be changed this week. You will need to upgrade your valve springs to the double coil kind, not b/c of the lift but b/c of the fast ramp rate of this cam. Im just taking it easy on it untill then. Go Bigger!

 

Rich...[whisper]its goin in a truck[/whisper]

Mean Lt1...it'll be a stick. the hotcam kit's rockers are the double-coil kind arent they???