[Project] my formula project...It's alive! Mwuahahahahaha

[Formula Z]

ok everyone im going to start researching products for my winter modifications so i need some help. im new to cam swaps and cylinder heads, something i have never gotten into.

my plans are cam, heads, stall, and gears

i have a 5.3 sitting in the garage i want to steal the heads off of. i know they need to be ported and new, bigger valves installed to be better then my stock 98 heads. anyone have a link or exact instructions on exactly what needs done? if i cant make these work ill probably just wait until i can afford some good ones. i know these heads raise the compression ratio, which will make more power.

so that leaves a cam and its necessary parts. if its going to be a cam only motor, what size and where should i start looking? i want a lumpy, useable cam. something that will sound most excellent at idle, yet still scream when opened up. is this possible? i will need valve springs and rockers possibly but read that the stock rockers will work if the cam isnt to big. do i need pushrods, yes? what brand/where?

i have a LS6 timing chain and ported LS6 oil pump already

i have a stall lined up and gears, just know one to do the gears yet. im thinking of tackling the gears by myself. any thoughts? im installing 3.73s

also once this is done, i know it needs to be tuned. will the car be safe to start and drive being untuned or should i trailer it to be tuned?

cash will be a big player in this so im trying to do this cheap as possible, but not cheap enough to where it will need to be done again.

im hoping to have this done by spring so any help would greatly be appreciated. thanks

[Formula Z]

nobody wants to give advice around here? wow thats new.....

[DETROITMUSCLE]

Sorry Mike I read your post yesterday but I didn't have time to respond. Here is my little $.02 First off if your going to use the 5.3 heads as you mentioned your gonna want to have them ported by a reputable shop and also upgrade to bigger valves, IMO I wouldn't even bother putting $ into them as you could just as easily buy a set of 243s (LS6/2) heads for $300 and make as much power and then later on have them ported if you wanted.

As for the cam, any aftermarket cam is going to sound great and you should NEVER pick one based on sound of lope ect. Choose based on your gearing, stall, and heads. All of these will have a great effect on your entire package as a whole. If you want a mid-high range cam or monster high end cam this will effect your converter choice. Choosing something with high 230-240 duration will mean your going to want to run a higher stall converter (3800+) Running a high 220-230 cam will warrant a 3600 converter (I honestly wouldn't go any lower even on a daily driven vehicle)

With any cam upgrade your gonna want to buy some new lifters (GM LS7 work well and are priced right) as well as measure for your new pushrod length so you will need a pushrod checker and springs to go with it. Your stock rockers should be fine so you can save cash there, but keep in mind that the 98-00 rockers are more prone to needle bearing failure so its something I recommend upgrading to down the road. The oil pump and timing chain you have are always a great idea Lastly your going to have to upgrade your valvesprings to handle the lift of any new cam, in this case I'd go with the Patriot gold duals as they can handle .650" lift and the dual spring gives you piece of mind.

Sorry for being so vague on cam choice but we really need to know the goals for the car as far as HP, ET, drivability and if you even care about MPG just let us know what you want and then we can better direct you.

[JoeliusZ28]

quality advice from jeff per usual.

and keep in mind even a small cam will chop if you set the idle slow enough If you MUST have the sound, lowering the idle a hundred Rs or so might be a smarter move than using the wrong cam. Ive got a mild cam with a 650 idle and it chops like a butcher. But by 1000 rpms it sounds almost stock.

like jeff said let us know what your goals are and we can help you more with the cam/stall choice. power, usage, mileage, etc. everything must be considered.

[Phantom409]

I know TJ at Baker can bench top tune you PCM with out the car.
If you don't want to hassle with that I would trailer to him or who ever does your tunning.
If you change the cam don't forget about injectors to support your mods.

[DETROITMUSCLE]

most cammed LS cars can run just fine on stock injectors, you'll find out when it gets tuned for sure or you can upgrade as mentioned but if you do that you'll have to swap em out after driving to the tuner or trailer the car because driving with bigger untuned injectors will wash the piston rings quickly.

[Fbomb]

I haven't seen any 243's around for $300 but if I could get them at that price I would jump on them since I am probably going to need to pull my heads when I do my swap anyways.

Little side info: longer duration seems to move the curve up into the higher revs and shorter duration/less overlap seems to yield more power down low.

[DETROITMUSCLE]

I haven't seen any 243's around for $300 but if I could get them at that price I would jump on them since I am probably going to need to pull my heads when I do my swap anyways.

I see them for that on tech quite often, I haven't looked in a while though but I don't imagine they are sky high when you can get L92s for cheap as well. I sold a set of 243s on here last winter for a good price.

[Virtue]

jeff pretty much covers it

do a oil pump you can get one new from lingenfelter for like 90 bucks and is a high volume

ls2 chain as its cheap your gonna be in there already

ls7 lifters can be had for around 130 i got mine 2 years ago for my stroker.


maybe look on ls1tech in the dyno section to get some ideas for a cam ect.

all you need is some 243's and a decent cam and she'll run real good.

i mean look at my car


sell all your old parts and make half your money back,people are always looking to go back to stock and sell their cars

[Formula Z]

thanks guys. ok then well i need to see if i csn find some ls6 heads. dont get me wrong im not wanting a cam just for sound, lol, i want all the power i can get too. sound is just important to me also. i planned on taking my car to tj at baker for tuning when finished. i also did plan on getting a 3600 stall so when i purchase the cam i will let them know. any other advice would greatly be appreciated. i will keep updates on the projects as i go. as of right now i plan on pulling the rear end this weekend and hopefully the motor and trans the weekend after.

[OIF1VET]

thanks guys. ok then well i need to see if i csn find some ls6 heads. dont get me wrong im not wanting a cam just for sound, lol, i want all the power i can get too. sound is just important to me also. i planned on taking my car to tj at baker for tuning when finished. i also did plan on getting a 3600 stall so when i purchase the cam i will let them know. any other advice would greatly be appreciated. i will keep updates on the projects as i go. as of right now i plan on pulling the rear end this weekend and hopefully the motor and trans the weekend after.

Good luck finding heads for 300.. I have been looking everyday, cheapest I have found is 550 plus shipping(on tech).. I check the foir sale threads daily.. If I see any in that price range I will let you know..

[DETROITMUSCLE]

I may be able to find you guys some, didn't know you were all looking. I will make a few calls and let you know.

[c0ncEpT]

I would go bigger on the converter. A 4000 stall is still 100% daily drivable.

If your looking to spend money on some good heads PI(Performance Industrys) has some sick 215 heads coming out. If your looking to stay more budget I would just find some 243's like others have said.

As for the cam I would go with something in the 230-240 range. With a decent converter and some big gears it wouldn't be a bad thing to put what some guys would consider a "thumper" cam in the car. Remember driveability is all in the tune.
That being said if your using heads you cant go wrong with something like 235/243 .624/.624 112LSA +3 or even a 239/243 .624/.624 111LSA +4 if it would clear. A decent amount of overlap and a good DCR will make for a real screamer.
Now if your going to stick with stock heads I really don't see a need to use a cam with that much overlap. Something like a 230/230 .612/.592 111+2 would work really good for a cam only application. That cam only has 8 degrees of overlap and will make sick power down low on stock heads.

[Formula Z]

yeah staying with stock heads might be an only option also depending on cost

[DETROITMUSCLE]

I think you could run Mike's suggested 230/230 cam with either heads to be honest, that cam made amazing power on our friends car with stock heads but 243s aren't gonna overflow it. As for converter most importantly what brand are you looking at? That will let us know how loose its going to be, for example if its a Vig it'll probably be looser than 3600 and act like a 3800 converter. Either way I don't think you need to go bigger but you certainly can. What kind of performance are you looking to get? HP ET? If you want the car to run mid-low 11s a bigger converter or weight reduction is probably going to be in order. If you just want the car to run consistent 11s then why bother throwing anything 240s duration in at all.