how hard?

[thisolechevy]

I have always wanted to put a bigger cam in my 69 and right now I am looking at a very nice cam by summit with 0.488 intake and 0.510 exhaust lift. I know its a pretty big cam but I think it would work well in the truck considering I need a little more torque. The question is...how hard is it to just swap out a cam? it is SUPPOSED to work with all of the stock lifters and rollers etc.. I know I will have to re-adjust the springs and what-not. But really how hard what all is involved? just taking off pulleys, timing chain cover, timing chain, remove springs rollers and lifters, pull out old cam and insert new cam????? I can get a good cam at a good price now I just want to know if its something I can do in a matter of hours or whole weekend.
Thank you
-Brad

[moneyguru]

Changing cams isn't that tough, the first time I did it took one afternoon.

BUT

You definitely want to replace the lifters when you replace the cam.

Also while you are in there consider replacing the timing chain, and gears.


HTH
Chris

[thisolechevy]

Cool, thanks for the reply moneyguru. Can you please elaborate (sp.?) on how you did it! I want to know exactly what I am getting my self into.
-Brad

[moneyguru]

It's been too long sine I did it for me to be able to write adequate instructions, so here is a good how to write up, hope it helps.

http://www.2quicknovas.com/happycams.html

HTH
Chris

[Custom 68]

others will be able to elaborate better but the larger cam will hurt your tourque down low anyway. With the larger cams you will need higher RPMs to get the extra HP and Torque. Dont go too big with the cam or it will run poorly. You will really need to look at the package (compression heads etc) to get a good feel for what you want.
Again others will chime in

[thisolechevy]

thanks for the site moneyguru it is REALLY helpful!! I talked to summit and that is the cam they recomended but it sounded kind of big to me so I talked to a race tech. today and suggested a different one. So I called Summit back and this time they suggested the same cam the race tech. did so now I will get a 0.466 intake lift and 0.488 exhaust. Both the tech and summit said this cam should give me the right amount of torque and a little extra HP. Anyone else think different?

[Big Block]

When you go with a higher lift cam with alot of over lap your vaccum will drop. So if you have power brakes you may have have trouble with a hard brake pedel. Their may not be enough vaccum to operate the brake booster properly. You might want to check with their tech line and ask if the cam that you are looking at will work alright. B.B.

[thisolechevy]

thanks guys! Because the techs are now telling me that I need to get everything new, stock is fine but need all new stuff...duh!!..I will probably have to wait a couple of months. But thanks for the reply!!

[cableguy0]

either one of those cams is wayyyy too big for stock heads and a stock engine. you will lose power.your going to want something in the 204/214 @,050 duration and under .450. your stock heads cannot handle anymore than that. either one of those cams will rip the press in studs out of your heads. neither of those cams are even going to make power untill 2000rpm or so not a good choice at all for a stock truck motor

[Dean23]

its not too hard to do a cam. pull the intake and valve covers, water pump
front cover, loosen off rockers pull pushrods out. keep them in the orderer they came out. pull ltiming chain. carefully remove lifters. remove cam. clean all gasket surfaces. install new cam with lots of assembly lube. install new gear drive instead of timing chain. they sound cool plus give you more accurate timing. then put it all back in the order you took it off

[Ratpowerd67]

you need a harmonic balancer puller if you dont allready have one.....rat

[70GMCer]

I remember the 1st cam I put in and didn't listen to advice. I had a stock small block and wanted the lope sound a big cam makes. So, I installed a 310 dur. and 480 lift. Sig Erson Cam. Man, when I started that thing up, it sounded so cool with headers and such. But idling at about 1500 rpm and without a stall, it got my attention when I put it in gear. It's funny how with a big cam, 1500 rpm sounds like 700 rpm or so. Did a real nice sudden jerk to the engine. Needless to say, this did not work right, so I took that cam right back out and installed the stock one back in. I didn't have any money to buy the right one and the speed shop, (that told me not to buy this cam in the 1st place) would not take it back. Blown weekend and about $150.00 worth of parts loss.

This was back in 1971.........that was a lot of money back then......



So, just a lesson to do you homework on cams !!!!!!

[thisolechevy]

wow thanks for the advice on cams guys!! I guess I will look into this more, both summit and a race tech. told me it would be a good cam for the truck. BUT I will keep loking around and asking questions...on that note what cam would you guys suggest?

[bigjimzlll]

you will need:
cam and lifters
cam change gasket kit
new timing set
new valve springs
new pushrods
new intake manifold bolts
tube of gasket stuff
oil change stuff
anti freeze
Do you need all new components??? Yes...The parts are reallitivly cheap and the peace of mine is worth it. New valve springs and timing set are a must. They take a beating over time

[Stocker]

Got my 350 rebuilt in 1991, basically stock but asked for a bit of a cam. What I got was a Crower #00903, lift .455 in, .464 ex. Duration 278/284. Ran great, responsive, good power, somewhat lumpy idle, but could never get it to idle right when cold. May have been carb related but couldn't fix it - it got to be a real PITA. Eventually swapped it out for a near-stock "RV" grind.

[WRMZ71]

OleChevy - That cam you first mentioned is what I have in my truck and unless you want to buy the appropriate intake, headers, carb, and stall and headwork you're probably good not touching it. The cam stocker mentioned is a great size cam. Its what I originally had before I went with this bigger one. with his cam he was talking about you can use the stock intake, stock exhaust manifold and a good 600 CFM carb will do just fine. Like the guys said. If you overcam it you will loose your bottom end torque pretty quick but you'll get power above 2000-2500 RPM which isn't the greatest for a streeter, unless you drive around like me with your foot in the gas pedal all day long. Hope this helps you out some.

[thisolechevy]

thanks again guys!! I have the stock heads that were ported, a Edel. performer intake, Hedman headers, Edel. 750 cfm carb. and full 2-1/2" exhaust so the "top stuff" on the motor is performance based. I mainly want more low rpm torque and a little extra HP. Yes I do keep my right foot down a lot though :-)

[Spyder-Dude]

ive removed several but never installed one till last winter and its relativly simple, i made sure i had a good book in front of me.

[Brainchild]

If not mentioned,you'll prolly have to remove the radiator,and AC Condensor to have enough room to pull it out.

[thisolechevy]

A/C condensor....whats that?....lol Yeah I will probably take off most of the front clip anyways to do some detailing and touch up painting.