I have a 95 trans am and I'm looking at taking my heads off this summer because of a bent valve. I have 145k on the clock and I am wondering if it is worth is to install a cam like a 305 or 306 with 1.6 rr on a motor like this. I've got about $500-600 to play with while the heads are off. I've seen people selling everything included for a 306 swap for $570-600. Also would it be worth to buy head off a lower mileage lt1 instead of repairing mine? I think the repair bill would be more than there worth.

 

My 93 Z28 has about 145k on it, I have everything to do a 306 cam swap, including stall and all the supporting goodies, only thing im missing is the nerve to find out how long the bearings will last. In other words i prolly won't do it, but people will tell you if you know your cars history (I don't), and oil pressure is good (Mine aint so great), you might be alright. Most people post about failures, not successes. One tip, make sure you don't have coolant in your oil. Good luck.
Also for the 306 most reccomend a tune, and a stall (dunno if youve got an auto or m6), otherwise it will prolly run **** poor, and maybe stall out alot.

 

At startup cold my oil pressure is in the 60s range, engine hot it's a stead 38-42. I have no coolant in my oil. Would the cam size matter when thinking about durability? Should I do something smaller? Or just wait till the engine is rebuild? Several months, if not years later.

 

I think the big issue is what rpm level is the cam going to make power at, and how often are you going to be way up there. I think the 306 pulls hard from around 3000 and up into the deep 6000 range, the thing is, if you take your car constantly up to 6200 and your bearings are already worn, you might be asking for trouble. Do some searches on here, its what i did, and most of this stuff is covered, that might be why your not getting many replies. If it was me, i would wait for the engine rebuild (thats what im doing), but its your car and you can do whatever you want.