Another 5.3 Build..
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 714
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Alright fellas.. here is the reason why I am staying with a stock camshaft.
1. Drivability. I'm sure any other camshaft would work wonders in front of an automatic transmission, but towing a trailer with a lumpy camshaft with a manual transmission is a pain. Not only is it rough at low rpms, it's harder on the clutch. I'm sure I could have paid somebody to tune the engine and get it close to stock idle, but I didn't want to go that route.
2. Cost. Yeah, I said it, COST. I don't make a pile of money, nor do I like to put unnecessary items on a credit card. I researched and saved the amount of money I needed for my desired engine build, plus a multiplier of 1.3. Any money that I didn't use went directly to my money market account. I don't need an engine with gobs of torque. If I were wanting that, I would have built a 6.0 and dropped a NV4500 5 speed behind it, but again, I'm on a budget.
3. Emissions. I wanted this engine to run without having to be tuned in order for it to pass my county's emissions test. Yes, this engine is running extremely well without a tune and passed the emissions test without a hitch.
I know people like to dream, and I appreciate the fact that others on this site have thrown there opinion in the mix, but please understand that I built this engine exactly the way I planned to. I wanted to build an engine for $1200, and, after selling the 4.8, I ended up paying $800 for a well performing engine that I like to drive and gets very respectable gas mileage.
1. Drivability. I'm sure any other camshaft would work wonders in front of an automatic transmission, but towing a trailer with a lumpy camshaft with a manual transmission is a pain. Not only is it rough at low rpms, it's harder on the clutch. I'm sure I could have paid somebody to tune the engine and get it close to stock idle, but I didn't want to go that route.
2. Cost. Yeah, I said it, COST. I don't make a pile of money, nor do I like to put unnecessary items on a credit card. I researched and saved the amount of money I needed for my desired engine build, plus a multiplier of 1.3. Any money that I didn't use went directly to my money market account. I don't need an engine with gobs of torque. If I were wanting that, I would have built a 6.0 and dropped a NV4500 5 speed behind it, but again, I'm on a budget.
3. Emissions. I wanted this engine to run without having to be tuned in order for it to pass my county's emissions test. Yes, this engine is running extremely well without a tune and passed the emissions test without a hitch.
I know people like to dream, and I appreciate the fact that others on this site have thrown there opinion in the mix, but please understand that I built this engine exactly the way I planned to. I wanted to build an engine for $1200, and, after selling the 4.8, I ended up paying $800 for a well performing engine that I like to drive and gets very respectable gas mileage.
i see you milled the 799's .020 what made you decide on that amount?
how much can be taken off before it starts screwing w/ the geometry of other things(headers, intake, etc)?
wish my build was staying in its predefined limit.
how much can be taken off before it starts screwing w/ the geometry of other things(headers, intake, etc)?
wish my build was staying in its predefined limit.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
From: Austin, TX
As far as milled heads messing with intake and exhaust geometry, I believe the heads would have to be shaved atleast .050 to interfere with intake manifold placement. I wouldn't sweat the headers, unless an inch was taken off the heads! haha!
