ProbablyInsane

I know someone is probably going to chime in with a "read a sticky" post or something similiar, but I assure you I have searched this forum as well as google and cannot find a direct answer for my question, and I guess with good reason.

If I were to have a '96 LT1 from an Impala, would it be possible to find the same year LT4 and swap that STOCK LT4 cam into the LT1? The reason I never find an answer is because as soon as the letters "LT4 cam" are typed, EVERYONE pipes up about the LT4 HOTcam kit. I do not really want the HOT cam LT4 kit. My engine would be in a DD, and I was just looking for a little extra oomph. I would also probably have the heads sent off to be ported and what not as well as the intake. Any advice and help would be appreciated! Thanks!

LigHtEmUp01

i just did a 355 with a cam smaller than lt4 hot cam and pp heads and it idled fine untuned and it ran its *** off ppl thought it was stock

ProbablyInsane

Really? So stick the with the stock cam? I just figured it might give a little extra power to the 96 Impala 350. IIRC, the '96 B-body LT1 only put out some 260 or so horsepower. Now don't get me wrong, when I buy the engine I will still have the heads sent out to be ported and polished, as well as the intake, with a 3" exhaust flowing through a High Flow Cat and Flowmaster Super 44 muffler. Add a good CAI with airfoil, and probably an MSD Ignition upgrade, should I still swap the cams? What HP could I expect with all of those bolt ons? Also, IDK if it matters but the system would have e-fans and the 4l60e tranny would be bolted to a 3.55 rear end.

IronOutlaw

iTrader: (4)

IIRC the stock B body cam is actually smaller than the Fbody cam. You should pick up power with an LT4 cam but Im not sure how much. If you are going through the trouble of building an engine and gonna have the heads worked I would go for an aftermarket cam. You should look into the Crane 227 or Com XFI 466. Those cams could put you over 300rwhp with ALOT of low end torque.

ProbablyInsane

But at the same time I gotta watch my budget and this would still be a DD for about 80% of the time. So mpg is still something to watch as well. Dont get me wrong, I'd love to toss a nice Comp Cam in it with the goodies and call it good, but the wallet says otherwise.

IronOutlaw

iTrader: (4)

You are better off spending money on a good cam and keeping stock heads, than having the heads worked over and keeping the stock B-body cam. ****, you could save the 50 bucks for the air foil and add to a cam fund.

To answer you original question, an LT4 cam will work just fine in an LT1. Just change springs to the LT4 springs. With full bolt ons you may see 300rwhp.

ProbablyInsane

So just go ahead and leave the heads alone and just grab an LT4 cam and springs? I appreciate your help and feedback, and I imagine my newb questions get annoying. I think I read an article that both the LT1 and LT4 had 1.6 rockers or something to that effect. So all I need with the cam is the springs? I will still probably pull the heads when I get the motor anyway because I plan on changing all gaskets, including head gaskets. Better safe than sorry, plus with the heads off I can really clean them up and work easier with the springs. Would you recommend replacing anything else maintenance wise? Pushrods, etc? Thanks again for the help!

IronOutlaw

iTrader: (4)

The B-body motors came with Iron heads. I wouldnt spend the money on porting them.
The LT1s came stock with 1.5 rockers and the LT4 came with the 1.6 roller rockers. 1.6 roller rockers are highly recommended but if the budget is extremely limited, the stock rockers are pretty strong and a small cam is fine with them. I ran the hotcam with stock rockers and they held up fine shifting at 5800-6000 rpms. I would at least change the lifters and springs.

96SilverZ

iTrader: (2)

LT1's do not have 1.6 RR's they have 1.5's. 1.6's are another good upgrade to go with. Pushrods should be fine but I would measure it anyway with a new cam.

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

I think you'd be going through a ton of trouble for not much of a gain. The LT4 production cam is not aggressive by any means. If you want more oomph, I'd just use the stock cam with all of the bolt-ons. That will keep your costs down, MPG up, and won't need a new tune to work properly while still providing you with a decent gain, especially since it's obvious that drivability is far more important than anything else to you.

And leave the stock ignition alone. Most of the time adding aftermarket ignition parts just complicates things with less reliability.

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

Listen to this guy.
My B-body with stock cam (the B-body stock cam), 1.6 RR and better springs, and all the bolt-on's put down 309 STD rwhp on the rollers and best ever ET was a 12.36 @ 108 mph. The heads on that car are the last thing you want to touch; the intake side flows ever so slightly better than the F aluminum heads.

96lt4c4

iTrader: (5)

I say go for it. The stock LT4 cam is a good DD cam. I put the stock cam out of my LT4 corvette in my boat with a 305 roller motor. I also changed the springs, ported the heads, screw in studs, and 1.6 RR, It really woke the boat up and ran great.

You could find a set of F body heads that alreday have screw in studs, get some springs, some 1.6 RR's. and there you go. I dont think you will be disapointed.

I ran a set of Ebay Z28 springs, and Summitt 1.6 RRs. The boat ran 5500 RPM wide open all the time and not one problem. The boat picked up power over the entire RPM range.

ProbablyInsane

Really? 300+ rwhp? That's awesome, considering that after much research I can't find an LT4 cam for less than $200. So you're saying keep the stock cam and pushrods, upgrade the rockers to the LT4 1.6 RR's and springs, and bolt ons. By bolt ons, I'm guess this just means CAI, airfoil, headers, higher flowing exhaust, etc?

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

Honestly, finding a stock LT4 cam wont be an easy task even if it was worth doing. LT4 parts were only used in '96 Vettes with a manual transmission so it's not like you'll just be able to find one in any old junkyard.

(to be technical they were used in 100 '97 Camaro SS's and 27 '97 Firehawks...but you REALLY wont find one of those )

Like the other guys said, start with the bolt-ons and see what you think. It might be adequate for you when you're done, and even if you do a cam swap down the road, you'll still want all those bolt ons to support/maximize a cammed setup as well.

ProbablyInsane

Thanks for the advice! I have come to learn that appriently used LT4 parts are not easy to find, and any new replacement parts are appariently made of rediculouslyexpensivetonium. The only reason I would have put a cam in off the bat is because the engine would be out and on a stand, which I imagine would make the came swap a heluva lot easier. But, with everyone saying the stock LT1 does well with the LT4 RR's and springs, then I guess I'll go that route! Btw, I also noticed in an article that the LT4 overlap allowed for the elimination of the EGR valve. For my application, with stock LT1 cam or not, the EGR and AIR would be removed and the PCM tuned to eliminate those needs. But, will the elimination of these two things cause a drop in MPG? IIRC, all these two things do are lower NOx levels in the exhaust? If it's any help, since the 350 Im using has a 10.4 compression, I would always use premium fuel.

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

Yes really.
Here's another idea for you: since you have the engine out and a cam change is easy, a ZZ4 cam is a good cheap upgrade for the LT1. Just a spring/retainer kit to accomodate the lift, and you can stay with the stock rockers .........I've bought two used/takeout cams for $75 ea. - cheaper than rockers!
How are you getting 10.4 CR out of B-body LT1? Stock is 10.0 with the iron heads and .029 head gasket. A common replacement is a .026 gasket.
BTW, you don't want the production LT4 roller rockers. They fit the metric sized studs on the production LT4 engine. GMPP and aftermarket brands will fit the 3/8" pressed-in studs on the iron heads.

ProbablyInsane

This is why I joined this forum, because otherwise I'd be running around like a donkey **** not entirely knowing what I was talking about. I was going off of Wiki numbers for compression in the LT1, which said between 10.4 and 10.5. And then I would have bought LT4 rollers, again like a ****, and had a "Well Im stupid" moment when I went to put them in. Would this ZZ4 cam still offer good ride quality for a DD? I know there's no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to cam and power, but I don't want a DD that can easily chirp tires and haul *** at the expense of getting 4 mpg lol. Also, in regards to this swap, when I did pull the heads should I also replace the lifters? What head gasket would you recommend? Thanks for the help!

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

I have that ZZ4 cam in my pickup - L31 engine with stock 9.4 CR, and I've been able to tune it (more low rpm timing advance) back to the mpg that the stock cam was getting. It has just a slightly rougher idle than the stock cam; a casual observer would mistake it for stock. It would work out even better in the 10.0:1 LT1. You'll just need to replace the dowel pin on the cam nose with the longer pin (I think it needs to stick out about .625") to drive the Optispark. You might even be able to salvage the dowel from your stock B-cam.
If an engine is not in need of an entire rebuild, you don't need to replace the lifters; they last practically forever. Use a Victor Reinz or Mr. Gasket .026" head gasket.

96lt4c4

iTrader: (5)

This is a good site with all the info and differences between the LT1 and LT4

http://www.grandsportregistry.com/lt1vslt4.htm

The Comp 252XFI would make a good DD cam for you. Its real close to the stock LT4 just a little better.

ProbablyInsane

Interesting.. Let's say I were able to stretch the budget a tad and get this cam. What else needs to be bought with it?

Actually, scratch that. I just looked up the cost for the kit, including the new springs and what not, and my budget isn't ready to take a smack of $800 with everything else I need to do.