I guess I should have said sorry to hijack LOL Yah thats what I thought about the valve seals plus all that sitting in storage and all. I cant wait to get this all done and try it on the dyno before and afters should be great I am hoping with all the mods to get 60 HP

 

If you plan to eventually cam that car, or do other extensive engine mods, go with 1.6's You cant go wrong with Comp Pro Mags, NSA, 7/16ths ...

The only reason I say this is that with 1.7 ratio on a high lift long duration cam would be more of a hassle. Make your lift through the cam, not the rockers. There is no reason to go higher than a 1.6 if your going to cam it. If however, your just going for a bolt on car, then Id say give the 1.7's a try.

I have heard nothing wrong about the Scorpions so far. I forget if they offer any kind of warrenty, but something to keep in mind is that Pro Mags come with a lifetime warrenty should they wear out/fail. These are steel, but really are not that much heavier as they are stronger than aluminum and they need less material to biuld the rocker body out of.

I will be doing 1.6 RRs and springs over winter and have full intentions of going ahead with hotcam springs, or an equivelent aftermarket spring to get me by until I build the motor ( $$$ ) And I will be using Comp Pro Mags, 1.6, 7/16s, ARP 7/16 studs etc, and new valve seals. It would be kind of pointless to go through all the work and not change the valve seals while you are there.

Also, in a 93, while you have it opened, it would be worth it to change the pushrods at the same time. They switched to hardened pushrods in 94 or 95 I believe?

Also, you must use the GM guide plates. Well, Im sure you could make the other ones work, but LT1's are slightly (Like thousandsths of inches) off from a standard SBC so the valve geometry would be incorrect with out them I think?

 

I need the guide plates as I have NSA RR and I dont plan on changing the cam I dont want to open the motor. I was going to go with the GM ones as they are not even that much higher in price. As far as the pushrods go it was my understanding from many other previous posts that the 93's had the hardened pushrods. Is there a way to tell when I take them out? So I can be sure.

 

I just did this the other night, taking my time, i swapped out the springs, clearanced the VCs, put the rockers on and adjusted them and had the WP off in less than 5hours. Some of this time was spent getting side tracked looking for dumb stuff but either way real simple.

I used Tim's Valve spring tool from over at LS1tech. He has a few made up for the LT1 set ups now and that tool was alot easeir to use than any other tool I have tried to use.

OH, I also did the springs in the firing order, so I did 4 springs at each TDC.

 

Maybe your right? I could have my facts mixed up? I just know that some years came with hardened pushrods and some years didnt. I could have sworn the 94 and 95s HAD them though ? Im not sure though?

 

Rumor has it that all '96 & newer were not hardened.
'95 & earlier were hardened.

So far this has been consistent with my findings.

Just slide a flat file across the side of the pushrod. If it digs in it is not hardened. You will not be able to file a hardened pushrod.

Hope this helps.

 

From F-Body.org FAQ:

Q: What's the difference between the '95s and '96s?

A: Dual catalytic converters became standard on all Z28s, Formulas, and Trans Ams. This raised the advertised HP up to 285 from 275 for all such cars. The oil cooler (KC4) was dropped altogether. Recyclable cooper/lead bearings replace cadmium/lead bearings. Low-resistance ignition wires were designed to improve idle quality and cold-start performance. A redesigned ignition coil has half of the primary inductance as the previous coil allowing the primary current to "pour in" much quicker for much improved output at higher RPMs. Revised pistons used a new positive-twist top ring that improved the piston-to-cylinder seal and reduced blow-by emissions at high speeds. The pushrods were no longer hardened as they were in previous years. The exhaust manifolds got tri-layered stainless steel gaskets for improved durability and reduced leaks. The biggest change was that of the on-board computer. 1996 was the first year of OBD-II ECM technology to better diagnoses engine problems. This was good for reliability, but bad for some modifications in that some heavy modifications to the engine could result in a Service Engine Soon light. OBD-II also required oxygen sensors just before and after the catalytic converter for before and after measurements. Although the ones after the converter really only measure the performance of those before it.