First off Id like to say this is my first post, Ive been lurking for about 6 months but never registered. I finally found a 1995 z28 camaro (lt1 with a t-56 6 speed) locally and decided to buy it.

The car was completely stock when I purchased it and I have since added a K&N cold air intake and put a flowmasters Cat back on it. I'm also in the process of replacing the clutch and slave cylinder.

anyways....

I am starting to hear a slight ticking sound which I believe is the lifters. I have talked to my master mechanic friend and he said it is better for me to rebuild the engine and do the cam at the same time; so I'm in search for a new cam (kit preferred).

Keep in mind the car is stock except the few upgrades above.

I have looked at comp cams and hot cams but I'm no mechanic and have no clue of what the numbers mean. (I'm new to this ).

oh and this will be a daily driver


anyways any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The choice in cam is going to come down to a couple variables. Like are you porting you heads, are you going with a stock 350 rebuild or bumping it up to a 355/383/396 and what compression?

All of these can change how the same came responds to different combos.

 

I have 179,000 miles so I'm assuming ill have to bore it out .030 or larger

wont know until I take the engine apart.

do you have a recommendation for the cam of the stock 350 and the .030 over?

 

I personally would recommend a custom grind from LE or AI. They can match it to your goals and build. And the the price is really no different from a off the shelf setup.

I am running a LE custom grind and love it! I am putting down 437/409 in my 383. He knows his stuff. And will help squeeze every bit from your combo.

 

thanks, I will look into these.

 

I would say your biggest thing will be your budget. Things add up real quick. If its not in your budget to do head work the hotcam or cc503 are good choices with a stock head. With head work a good cam that will perform with it makes alot of sence for a custom grind. Keep in mind a cam change will also require pcm reflashed(one close to stock may not but I would go close to what your heads will work well with). Budget will dictate so much plus any supporting mods(headers, km, tune, etc) plus the parts that make sence to change like perhaps water pump, cap and rotor, hoses or lines. Labor will be costly unless doing yourself or getting a great deal.


Posted from Camaroz28.com App for Android

 

If you're on the budget I would go to headbytes.com tell Tony Tom sent you and talk to him about doing your heads. Check out the results in my sig for a $750 port job. He will also match a cam for you.
As for the bottom end, no need to go crazy if it's your daily driver, the stock bottom end can hold up to 600 ponies. If you have future plans for more upgrades maybe some NOS then I would toss in a forged bottom end.
I often wondered if it would of been cheaper just to buy that 425hp crate engine after this build. It was only $4500 and depends how far you take the rebuild you can exceed that easy. Think it over, write everything down that you need, price them out and weigh it out. Once you got your number add a thousand.

 

labor is free for me, I know a guy and he owns me some favors

I was thinking a comp cam might work well. Because I'm not necessarily looking to do head work.

do you think I will need a tune if I get a comp cam thats a little over stock specs?

do you know the general cost of a rebuild (price range)?

 

I wouldn't be afraid of a tune, all you have to do is mail out your pcm to pcmforless or any other tuner you might find worthy and you get it back in a few days tuned for whatever you want.

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

with it being obd1 its pretty cheap to get the cable and software to tune and log. Then you can get a tune by email as well as fine tunes if needed and have the ability to read codes and diagnose any future problems without the need to hunt down someone to scan it or get parts without proper diagnosis. There is a member with the cc503 and I believe he either had it in with stock heads or still does and he would be a good person to talk with. He comments a fair bit and seems knowledgeable. I am sure he would be wiling to pm you or comment with his experience. I know he has shared with others and perhaps someone can point him here if they know him. I am guessing you would definately want longtubes with that cam. There is also certain componants to avoid and to get depending on your goals. I also didnt notice if your an auto or manual. Some cams may need a higher stall and lower gears. I am very limited in my knowledge here but know what has been posted by others who do. Might want to include a rough estimate on your budget and goals with car as well as how you use it beyond a dd. Like if your a 1/4 mile or all around or what kind of driving you want it to do well with.


Posted from Camaroz28.com App for Android

 

My car is the t-56 6 speed manual transmission.

another thing to note is I recently found out my car is a California emissions car so any long tubes are a no go (as far as I'm aware) until I make the car historic in 2015.


as for my car Im looking for a DD that sounds good and is fast off the line with strong low and mid range power.The top end isn't too important but Id still like to has some power.

 

fortunately for me emissions are not an issue so dont know much except the cats have to be in near stock position and all emission things need to be intact. Im not sure if any lt headers will keep the cats in stock location.( I am also not sure what year the went from single to double. I also know the tune can be pretty important for the bigger cams to pass. I saw a list that had various cams and how they do with various factors like emissions and stock heads. I did find a post with the person I referred to and pointed him this way( given the right person as im on a phone). The manual should help you run any cam that will pass emissions given your tune is on(from the best of my knowledge). Even at that le or ai would still be worth contacting about their cams and your requirements and their price and recomendations.


Posted from Camaroz28.com App for Android

 

---End Quote---I do have a CC503 and stock heads(right now). I've been passing NC emissions with no problems whatsoever, but we do not have a tailpipe test. What NC does is go by what the OBD II system says in the car('96 and up). It the car's PCM does not flag any emissions problems, then it passes in NC.

I think Cali may have a tailpipe test and to boot they are very picky about the stock cat locations(NC does not care about stock cat locations...at least the have not with me).

No question that the CC503 may give him a good gain with stock heads and a decent CARB header(Edlebrock shorty's may be the only on CARB approved....not sure). The only reason I say "may" above is because I don't know how much the car would pick up with shorty's and the stock cats.

Just be aware that I picked up a ton hp by going to the long tube headers and cat'd Y-pipe. I don't know if the shorty's will pickup that much....but just about anything will breathe better than the stock manifolds.

The only real thing I would worry over is the tailpipe test(if he is subject to it).

A post in the LT1 section, questioning on passing Cali emissions with the CC503 should help get him some answers. *********** he pmd me and thats his response


Posted from Camaroz28.com App for Android

 

I'm actually in MD but I believe MD does a tail pipe test. I'm going to look more into it and make some phone calls. hopefully It wont be a bear of a task to keep everything emissions friendly and still do a nice cam