okay, at least thats what i told my girlfriend. you know how those camshafts are always going bad .

alright. so heres the deal. water pump went out. hmm. got to replace that.
fast foward a bit....water pump is out and sitting next to the new one on my garage floor. i'm looking down into the engine bay and realize that i probably need to replace my timing chain while i'm in there. but if i change the timing chain, i'm right next to the camshaft...might as well put a new one of those in too . now i'm not rich by any means, but i do happen to have some fun money set aside for the stock beast. and i just decided to invest a little in the engine before i start on my interior and exterior work on the car. i'm not overly familiar with all the different types of camshafts with the exception of a few (cc306 and the hotcam). but i dont want to limit myself to just those two. i'm not doing any head work right at the moment. maybe in a year or two. however, i would like to see at least 350rwhp if at all possible. thats to include new springs, rockers, lifters, etc....a good cam kit. so here comes the inevitable question- what are some "opinions" of some good cams to consider here? ive done a few searches with no definite clue as to where to start out. just looking for suggestions.

ps- no real mods currently done. other than a cold air intake. but with the cam i'm looking at investing in the delteq coil packs (just to somewhat bypass the opti, obviously not for power gains) and a set of shiny new LT headers. ah, and getting my pcm reprogrammed.

i appreciate all your ideas. thanks for any info.
dave

 

Most people here are going to tell you that a CC306 or GM847 will work fairly well still with stock heads, but wouldn't want to go much higher than that. Keep in mind, getting the water pump off will take you about 20-25 inutes. Getting the cam out will take you about 6-8 hours (if this is your first time at it). Putting cam back in another 6-8 hours or so. It may sound like you're going to be "right by the timing chain and cam" but you really aren't

I wouldn't do any cam upgrade though without getting headers and catback on the car first.

 

yeah, i had a friend of mine tell me about the cam install. it will be my first time, so ill have to be gentile . but you got to learn sometime. and as far as the headers go, they will be going on either before or right after the cam install. and along with the headers i should be getting a complete dual exhaust setup. and as far as the cats go, ive never really been a fan of cats. so um, i think ill just go without those. for off road purposes though, i assure you!

 

Call Crower they make a 224-228@50 on a 112+4 that is a SWEET cam. You can use your stock lifters and the stock(new) chain and sprocket set.Get the springs from them and retainers and locks.You will have to check your Piston to valve clearance but it should be OK but check with clay anyway. If you want to go with 1.6's you will need guide plates and push rods,any BRAND name will do and the guide plates have to be GM. and 7/16 studs. A big cam has a bad habit of throwing the self align factory rockers off of the valve even after market SAR's

 

You dont need guideplates and such as long as u get self-aligning rocker arms. Also u shouldnt have to check the piston to valve clearance as I dont think that that cam is that big.

 

Did you read my post????

 

Yes i did read your post, hence the reason why i posted. Your post is the first one ive read that said anything about needing guideplates with self-aligning rocker arms. I am not saying your wrong, just ive never heard that before.

 

Ok,when you try it and a valve comes unhinged because the rocker was off of the valve and pushing on the retainer,don't come crying. It keeps guys like me with pocket change.
I own a shop and build engines for a living and have seen it happen,by a customer trying to save money and didn't think he needed them.His comment was "a lot of people run these". OoooooKaaaaaaa.Well a new block,head and a lot of more parts later he decided to put guide plates and regular RR's on and I haven't heard from him in a year or more.

 

K, sounds interesting. any idea as far as power increase on this cam? not that i'm looking for monster numbers or anything... but mostly just curious. also, how do i get a hold of Crower? you can repost on here or PM me if you'd like. thanks for the info.

 

1-619-661-6477 ask for Dave Crower and tell him you want that same cam set up as the guy in Ala. has had such good luck with.
Have outrun 383's with a 355 from a roll to 120MPH with that cam and heads that flowed 260-210 at .600 and an Ed Wright mail tune with 11-1/4 static compression.Don't remember the lift and thats why I said to check the piston to valve.I had forged set up for .800 lift.I"think" it was in the high 5's or low 6's but I no longer have that engine,it lives in Canada now.

 

I'm changing my opti now, was gonna do the cam thing cuz it's right there.
Until I learned that's not even half the work. Gotta take off the manifold and other crap to get the lifters out. So I changed my mind.

Let me know how your cam installation goes. If it's easy maybe I'll do it too.

 

I own a shop down here in LA and do it all the time.

 

I hope you aren't telling people to use guideplates with self-aligning rockers

 

that and reusing stock lifters with a cam that peaks high in the RPM's isn't a good idea either...

 

dont worry, i wouldnt use the stock lifters.

so does anybody else have any suggestions? i'm contemplating getting custom heads now too. good idea since i'm doing a cam swap?