H/C Build

[NASTZ]

So I am currently in the process of porting heads, and swapping cam.
I have a local guy porting the heads for me and while he's finishing that I have some time to finish the cam and the front of the motor.

My first question, I am going with a cast cam, so do i need to replace the oil pump drive gear with a different gear or will it be fine. Another lt1 guy I talk to a lot had a billet cam and he did NOT change the gear and ended up stripping it out. So since I am going cast and not Billet I was thinking i should be fine. What do you guys think?

Second, What is you guys opinion on head bolts? I have the part number for both ARP's and Felpro's. Felpros are a hell of a lot cheaper obviously. I think they will be fine as this motor will be just at 400 hopefully. Thoughts?

Third, I am having the heads milled .020, or .030" and I am going to be using a .026" head gasket. Im not thinking I really have to worry about PTV issues but I could be wrong. Any concerns?

Thanks guys

[LT slow]

I have arp bolt so I can't say. And dont know cam specs but I would still check it regardless.

[HellTeeOne]

You can get a billet cam with the upgraded drive gear and it will work fine. I know all of AI's cams and probably LE's too come this way.

I used the ARP head bolts.

[SSlowBoat]

So I am currently in the process of porting heads, and swapping cam.
I have a local guy porting the heads for me and while he's finishing that I have some time to finish the cam and the front of the motor.

My first question, I am going with a cast cam, so do i need to replace the oil pump drive gear with a different gear or will it be fine. Another lt1 guy I talk to a lot had a billet cam and he did NOT change the gear and ended up stripping it out. So since I am going cast and not Billet I was thinking i should be fine. What do you guys think?

Second, What is you guys opinion on head bolts? I have the part number for both ARP's and Felpro's. Felpros are a hell of a lot cheaper obviously. I think they will be fine as this motor will be just at 400 hopefully. Thoughts?

Third, I am having the heads milled .020, or .030" and I am going to be using a .026" head gasket. Im not thinking I really have to worry about PTV issues but I could be wrong. Any concerns?

Thanks guys
Lloyd elliott cams come with a cast gear pressed on. I reused my stock oil pump drive gear with a billet oil pump drive body. PTV should be checked when running a bigger cam with that much shaving, are you going with bigger valves or stock valves? Get the arp bolts, they are reuseable, I've heard horror stories of felpro snapping when torquing them down. I run arp bolts, cheap insurance. Also, run cometic head gaskets.

I think you're also gonna have to have your intake shaved if the heads are milled that much

[shownomercy]

Lunati sold me a cam with a billet gear, so they should be out of business..?

[SSlowBoat]

Lunati sold me a cam with a billet gear, so they should be out of business..?
Lunati presses cast gears on.....

[gmpowered]

I would get ARP reusable head bolts.

[shownomercy]

Lunati presses cast gears on.....

I can show you my bill if you want :lol:

Had to pay extra for a cast gear versus the billet one they assured me would be fine.

[NightTrain66]

No prob with milling .020 and going back with stock .051" gaskets and have intake bolt down with no problems. Add in thinner head gaskets (.026-.039") and en extra .010" milling on top of that and it will probably require "something" extra to make intake fit well.

Quick fix is to use a dremel and slot intake bolt holes in intake inward so the bolts do not dig into intake manifold bolt holes and effect sealing or TQ reading.

Better fix would be to mock everything up and mill intake on the sides to make it fit properly so bolts and ports align well.

That's the better way to do things . . . . Mill heads .030" and use thinner .026" head gaskets and make intake fit after that. These things help cars make another 10-15 RWHP/RWTQ (across the board) over cars that do not do this (just be prepared to spend more $$$ also).

Lloyd

[NightTrain66]

Cast cam is fine up to 425 lbs open pressure with a stable valve trane (450 lbs open according to Comp, Lunati, Bullet, etc).

Problems occur when you go over 425 lbs (or 450 lbs) open pressure and/or a set up with valve trane problems (seat pressure, aggressive lobes, wrong PR length, etc) and then the softer cast cam can allow the lifter to pit or dig into the lobes during valve float or too much pressure.

Less spring pressure and a stable valve trane can allow a cast cam to be fine.

Even a billet cam can have problems with an unstable valve trane but it can just handle more spring pressure and a lil more valve float before the cam fails. Not indestructible by any means, just a lil more forgiving.

Biggest deal will be to not use a valve spring that can "barely work". Get a cam that will work with the springs (seat pressure, open pressure, coil bind, quality of wire used, milage you expect from springs, etc, etc) you are willing to buy and it's always better to swap springs sooner than later.

[NightTrain66]

We offer cast cams ($300 shipped) or billet cams with cast gears ($375-400 shipped).

Specs will depend on gear, weight, stall, cubic inch, compression, emissions, low RPM drivability, driving style, what springs are used, how often you wanna replace them, etc, etc.

If you are using the Alex parts single springs, we can work with them and do a cam that will allow those springs to live with those springs. It will have a lil less lift and slower ramp speed compare to a customer using better single springs or dbl springs.

If a customer wants to use a $250 BTR or Lunati spring kit (springs, ret, locks, locators and seals), we can use a cam in the .560-.600 lift range with pretty aggressive lobes and the springs can live 40-50 k miles of street use or the same springs can be used on aggressive lobes with .610-.650 lift and live for 10-15 k miles.

Better springs will live longer on the same cam, it just depends on what springs the customer wants to buy and how often the customer wants to swap them.

LOTS of factors when it comes to cam selection.

Lloyd