350 Vortec uppper end to-do list:

[stroker52]

Yep what he said^^^

Also do not by all means you a tap to chase threads.. you need a thread chaser... A tap will take metal out an you will have problems down the road of bolts stripping!!!

 

[DGA1]

The belt was thrashed so it's gotta be replaces, and last night I noticed that the idler pulley has a bad bearing too. I have already replaced the fuel injection before I realized I was going to have to rebuild the upper end. The heads are only going to cost $350 for the set to have them rebuilt.

I'm going to spend tomorrow morning running taps through all the bolt holes to clean them out and freshen up the threads and saw off a few heads off some of the old head bolts to make me some studs to screw into the block to aid head and intake alignment when I get ready to stick those back on.

I'd talk to them about how much more it would cost to machine the heads for more lift and get the press in studs replaced with threaded ones. Do it now while they are out and it should be cheaper, than pulling them again. Some Z28 springs and retainers, which are cheap, and you are good to go to around .550 lift.

It's a good idea to do a cam since you're having the heads done. Ask them what valve springs they reccomend for the cam and have them put those in. Also, don't forget to get new lifters. There is no such thing as a good set of used lifters. The lifters shape and profile to the cam shortly after the engine is started for the first time.

He should be running roller lifters in the motor anyway, unless there is damage to one, you should be able to just toss the old ones back in there. If it's a flat tappet, yes, I agree with you. I think I was reading somewhere that roller lifters in these and LS motors were designed to last a very long time, over 500,000 miles.

Yep what he said^^^

Also do not by all means you a tap to chase threads.. you need a thread chaser... A tap will take metal out an you will have problems down the road of bolts stripping!!!

A big +1 on this!

 

[stroker52]

yes roller lifters can be used again.. just when you get them out look at them real close for wear.. and its also a good idea to take a piece of card board and line them up like they came out of the motor so they go back in the same hole..

any cam with over 460 lift will need to have the valve guides cut down to they dont hit the retaners..

 

[Horns]

He should be running roller lifters in the motor anyway, unless there is damage to one, you should be able to just toss the old ones back in there. If it's a flat tappet, yes, I agree with you. I think I was reading somewhere that roller lifters in these and LS motors were designed to last a very long time, over 500,000 miles.

I completely skipped over the fact that he has a vortec. Good call sir.

yes roller lifters can be used again.. just when you get them out look at them real close for wear.. and its also a good idea to take a piece of card board and line them up like they came out of the motor so they go back in the same hole..

any cam with over 460 lift will need to have the valve guides cut down to they dont hit the retaners..

Indeed! Get yourself one of these: http://www.summitracing.com/search/...=valvetrain+organizer&kr=valvetrain+organizer

Or make one out of wood if you can and have the time.

 

[bluex]

You can run the ht383 cam without any head work....

 

[dkennedy]

Yep what he said^^^

Also do not by all means you a tap to chase threads.. you need a thread chaser... A tap will take metal out an you will have problems down the road of bolts stripping!!!

Very good point... I do have a set of thread chasers, but sometimes I incorrectly refer to them (generically speaking) as taps.

 

[stroker52]

its all good bud just didnt want you to do something that you couldnt fix..

 

[stroker52]

hey if your really looking to do a cam swap this would be the cam i would go with.. it will need some head work to make it work cuz of lift.. it wouldnt be a bad idea to send your PCM off to get it tuned to the cam to make sure it runs right..

this is just the info from comp cams. dont buy from them go to summit an get it.. if you want i can look it up and post a link to it...

http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=212&sb=2

if your having any trouble understanding what the cam is just ask and i will fill ya in lol