jthunderz28

This is great. appreciate all the feedback/input from all.

The guy who said he got all his cam stuff for 800 must have reused some of his other parts and skimped on something. I know some folks do feel swapping out extra stuff is overkill, but i like to play it safe.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

800 sounds like reused parts....
once you count up all the nickel and dime hits that you take, you will definitely spend more than $800

I dont even think I can buy a cam and springs Kit for $800 and get anything worth a crap.

Cam, Springs, Seats, Valve guide seals, Retainers(preferably titanium), Locks, Pushrods, Front seal, new Crank Bolt, Front gasket, Water pump Gaskets, Timing Chain(single or double), Oil Pump and new o-ring, Antifreeze, Oil and filter, assembly Lube, RTV, Locktite, Tools(borrowed, bought, or stolen..LOL).

disc0monkey

iTrader: (10)

cam, gold duals, seals, seats, pushrods from eps
40 for a timing chain

dont know what your "skimping" on
800 is about most of what a highend cam swap should cost.

pitbull14218

iTrader: (3)

I plan to cam my car this spring, I need poly motor/tranny mounts, subframe connecters.... Def seems like it won't be cheap lol. Do u need an after market fuel pump too? What about injectors?

Slow_Esuvee

Swaping the cam isnt the cost its the added extra stuff to do it safe


lifters, lifter trays if any miles
chromolly pushrods
valve springs , seals, retainers
oil pump
timing chain
all gaskets
ARP bolts
and tune


my ticking lifter ended up being a head/cam/intake upgrade

Paul 1953

In October I spent $800 on parts from Geoff at EPS incl: Cam, timing chain, P/Rs, springs, gaskets, crank bolt. (00-02 don't need oil pump upgrade) It was my first cam swap. I used LS1howto, it took me 4-5 days.
The tune was $360.

I picked up 60 HP for 394 rwhp / 376tq (on stock 341 heads)

Slow_Esuvee

so you didnt change lifters or pushrods

smg267

iTrader: (23)

no one added new injectors??

jthunderz28

are you talking 800 Euros??? jk, I actually researched all the necessary parts some of you listed and it does go over $800 easily, this is if you replace extra things that some may not deem necessary.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

I could see $800 in parts if you only did Cam, Valve Springs, seats/retainers/locks/valve seals
I think several of the sponsors offer a cam and kit for around that

but you still have Coolant/Oil/Filter, plus the Bolts/gasket/seal kit.

and you would be a Retard(with a Capitol R and meaning it in a derogatory way) to keep the stock timing chain and oil pump


not to mention the tools which you are unlikely to have all of them if you have never done a cam swap....
and there are a few must have tools...
3 jaw puller, Torque wrenches.. one big one and one small one(yes, you should have both), various wrenches and sockets, valve spring tool, a long breaker bar/assistance bar



oh yeah.. and dont forget....
Must Have!
CUSTOM TUNING!

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

dont usually need it for just a cam on most cars.... but it is a smart upgrade...especially if you do an intake/exhaust/heads along with a cam.

disc0monkey

iTrader: (10)

not where i bought my parts. this includes all the goodies except oil pump, guess i got a good deal then.

just telling ya what i spent. my car certainly is running tiptop shape started right up today as it does everyday, it was below zero.

jthunderz28

Where did you buy all of this and what specific items did you buy. Help is always appreciated. Share the knowledge bud.

Ethan[ws6]

iTrader: (13)

Cam (comp)- 360
Springs (PRC Dual) - 100 (used 5k miles)
PR's - 100 (WS6Store)
ls6 heads - 400 (shipped, from priv. indv.)
gaskets/ARP bolts - 250 (TSP)

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

I know there is a reason to go cheap...
but why buy used valve springs that are probably at half their life or less already
and why do heads and only get somebody's used ls6 heads when you could have just saved up and gotten a pair of used patriot ported heads for a few hundred more and gotten twice the performance out of them

disc0monkey

iTrader: (10)

i agree with soundengineer to put stock heads doesnt seem worth the trouble to me.

Ethan[ws6]

iTrader: (13)

I had <1400 dollars to spend and wanted a cam. The heads are coming off in a couple of weeks and getting cnc'd plus, I'm not a fan of patriot at all. The springs were a friends who needed the money, 5k miles is hardly half life on those springs and they are originally almost 300 dollars. If I had the extra money laying around I would have done it differently but I didn't so i went this route lol.

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

you will get similar results with a set of cheap patriots as you will with doing porting on ls6 heads....and you wouldnt have to do the work twice..

depending on the size/duration/ramp rates of the cam those springs were used on previously, and if the owner warmed up the valvetrain before beating on it, you could be well past half the valvespring life.

I've had springs last 7k miles, and I've had them last 25k+ miles....
there is no telling when one will give out based on a guess from the previous owner
I would highly suggest you test them when you have your heads off to have the CNC work done to them, and make sure the springs are still within good specs...
and then test them every 5k miles

GT Griller

iTrader: (8)

160 = used cam
100 = used springs/retainers
75 = used pushrods
50 = antifreeze
10 = oil

soundengineer

iTrader: (16)

Holy F___ing "Project Cheapskate"..LOL