vicki711

My husband has a 95 z28 with a little over 100k on it. (IF I ask stupid questions, just let me know and I can ask the husband who is at work currently).

He decided to wreck it and when he went to put it all back together he found a cracked manifold. So this to him just screamed MOTOR REBUILD! Much to my dismay, I agreed to a total of $1600. Well, that was maybe the motor rebuild. We need a Cam/Lifter kit and all that comes with that jobby AND he wants to do headers. The mids/shorts because he scrapes enough and I'm not really looking to see holiday lights from the sparks coming off the car. It is lowered.

The motor rebuild RETARDS don't know anything. I asked what kind of cam to order and was told it has a bore over of 20. And a 9.7 cc. WTH does that have to do with the price of tea in China. Literally.

Okay here's my questions:

What kind of Lifters does this car have?! They told him flat tappet and I called to see if we could order and was told it has Roller tappet.

What cam is recommended for the car? He went just a smidge better than stock.

Are springs REALLY necessary?

And last - I hope...What headers do you recommend? He found some nice pacesetter mids but I want him to have some horsepower...

vicki711

Also I'd rather not die of shock at the prices..I don't want to divorce him over this car..because he will be buried 6 ft. under with it after all this.

Let's keep it cheap! (OR CHEAPER)

greenformula94

It has roller lifters, stock lifters can be reused if in good condition.

or you can find replacements from lunati or Comp cams for 150-200$ like these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LUNATI-SBC-C...eeadf2&vxp=mtr

Springs are necessary with a bigger cam and if he doesnt go too big a cam then he can used this cheaper but yet good kit for 100$
LT1 VALVE SPRING KIT Includes: SPRINGS, RETAINERS, LOCKS & CUPS. - Alex's Parts Sales

any headers will work, shorts or mids will net the same amount of power pretty much and longtubes the most but you might scrape more.

vicki711

They told him a couple lifters looked bad....but they also said it was flat tappet.

vicki711

I hear he's going for the 260 range for advertised duration on the cam. He was told anything over 270 would mean he has to redo even more on the motor?..

greenformula94

sounds like he doesnt know what hes getting into, and has retards as mechanics.

greenformula94

go to comp cams website and call there question hotline, they will direct you to cams and all the valvetrain components you will neeed for that cam.

vicki711

My husband is actually a full time mechanic - ASE certified. He doesn't do motors very often though and hasn't ever dug in to the lt1. That's the most confusing part to him right now is all the misinformation he's getting.

The machine shop is about as clueless as a horse with no tail in a fly farm. They are making it worse on him and frustrating the living out of both of us.

I came asking for advice..not to be called something that we're not. Honest advice on the best options to get the car back on the road.

vicki711

I called comp and they were very helpful. They just said his options were this this this this and this. It's hard to tell which this is the best option.

dennis5374

as far as the camshaft goes it all depends what he's looking for. If he wants great mid range and a decent top end with no low end loss I would say a cc503. You can run bigger and not suffer on the low end with gears with a manual transmission or a higher stall converter and or gears in an auto. Remember though the bigger you go the heavier duty springs and hardware you will need. You can net some decent gains just from changing out the springs and running 1.6 roller rockers.

ACE1252

What manifold was cracked? Intake? Exhaust? Was the car hit in the front, side, back?

Has he worked on a Chevy 350 before? I would hope so. Being ASE certified, why is he not taking the bull by the horns? Seems like you are doing work that he should be doing. Not trying to be argumentative....but this is his area of work.....

Anyway....

The bottom end, for the most part, is like a normal SBC bottom end. It does have a one piece rear main seal. It is also externally balanced with the flywheel. F-bodies got 2 bolt main caps.

The LT1 has reverse flow cooling. The coolant flows from the heads down to the block. As such, the thermostat is a special one. A normal SBC cools the block then heads. Air in the system can be a problem if the system is not properly filled. Plenty of threads around here on how to do it. It's also on Shoebox's site at the bottom. The water pump is driven by a gear via the camshaft gear.

The intake is dry. No coolant flows through it as with a normal SBC.

The distributor is on the front of the engine(formally called ABITS...we call it opti or opti spark for short....some call it ABITCH...but I digress...). Here is a video on it...it is driven off the front of the cam and comes in a non-vented and vented unit. Your opti should be vented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFCjaz6zHfc

In a F-body, heads are aluminum. 10.4:1 compression....complete specs are here....
LT1 vs LT4

There is also lots of information on Shoebox's site.
4th Gen LT1 F-Body Tech Aids

If you are looking to do a cam or head change, do some searching in this forum for cam and head swap or selection. Read, read, and read some more. What you need will depend on how much you want to spend and your power goals.

BTW....if your machine shop is clueless....RUN and find another before you waste a ton of money.

vicki711

The car is 6sp. No auto here

He has done motors as far as removal and replacing. We did our own in our Silverado, but not sure what exactly he couldn't do with the camaro. I'm sure it was the head work - he just had them do the gaskets and all while it was apart. That he can do...

I'll do the looking in to the cam swap threads Thanks!

mrmint69

I was going to say the same thing. If you feel the people working on it are incompetent, get the car out of there. I see to many mechanics with almost zero experience on the LT1 and YOU end up with all kinds of problems. I always ask them specific questions to prove they know these cars.

vicki711

Sorry, exhaust manifold cracked. I wish now I would've had the ***** to tell him to suck it up and replace it and get on with life...but alas, he is a man and wants a rebuild.

The front drivers side took most of the brunt of the rock he hit...




All I'm finding in kits is upwards of $700.00.

He's looking for a little more horse, nothing major because I like gas mileage and it is a daily driver (when it's not on ramps..).

vicki711

The motor is done....waiting for the cam we choose - or I would've pulled it by now.... I'm starting to wonder if I know more than the machine shop.

We just can't find a cam kit that doesn't knock our socks off with price. I'm a bit more on the $500 side...he's more on the whatever doesn't kill me side.