I have a 99 camaro. I bought tsp v 3 campackage, rods, springs and 241 heads. Should I get lifters and install them too? Is it worth it? Cause it would cost me a thousand dollars more to put new lifters in. If I don't what's the chance of something going wrong? Thanks

 

Yes you should.

Stock lifters (used ones at that) are not up to the task. All new gm replacements are ls7 style. An upgrade over previous ls versions, but if you can afford a better lifter do it. Brian tooley has some nice ones for $200

Also, a lifter swap shouldnt be nowhere near $1000 unless that includes labor.

Is it worth it, you tell me. A couple hundred for some new lifters, OR an entire new top end with potential for a total motor. Id say its well worth it.

 

This is what I did for my project. My car has 170,000 miles on it and still running strong.

LS7 Lifters- Your stock ones are prone to failure. Having to do all of this over again would suck. Usually when a lifter goes, your cam will also get scuffed, which will require you to buy a new cam. So having to buy a new cam + new lifters + head gaskets + more labor worth skimping out over some 180 dollar lifters? I had my project done due to a bad lifter. Both a lifter and my cam were scuffed from the failure. Go with the lifters. You can also get higher RPM's out of the LS7 lifters than your stock ones. Win/win situation.

Melling Oil Pump- A lot of people on here will recommend going with the ported Melling Oil Pump. Unless you're going with a supercharger/turbocharger, IMHO not worth it. Just get the high flow Melling Oil Pump and save a little cash.

LS2 Lifter Trays- 32 bucks for the 4 of them which is what you're going to need. Almost everyone that does a head/cam build goes with these. For 32 bucks you really can't go wrong.

LS2 Timing Chain. All appropriate gaskets. Might also want to consider an underdrive pulley. Would be much easier to do while you're doing this project.

Do you have longtube headers? Your stock headers will choke your cam unless you switch them out. More horsepower on the table when going with Longtube headers.


Good luck on your build. Mine was 243 heads, TSP 224R Cam, TSP LTH 1-7/8", TSP ORY, new engine mounts, plus all of the parts listed above. Mine's a manual 6. From this I'm not putting down 390rwhp. Every cent spent on this project was totally worth it. Have fun!

***EDIT: Make sure that you have a tool for the valve springs, tool for the harmonic dampener, obviously a torque wrench. Might also want to consider the ls6 valley cover. I went with the ls6 valley cover on my '98. If you do go this route, be absolutely sure to get a new coolant pipe. I had to spend about 8 hours bending my stock one to get it to fit under my intake manifold. NOT FUN!

 

^ Good stuff to know!

 

Well it's nice to have new lifters sitting on your new cam (new on new)

$1,000 does sound like typical shop laber prices @$100/hr

Have you ever worked on cars before? IMHO I would buy some tools and do it yourself, it's actually pretty easy and fun if you take your time

Heres a walkthrough website

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=2

take a look at the site and see if it looks like something you could do, or better yet ask for someone local here on tech if they would help you out that has done it before, alot cheaper than shop and you learn as well... A head/cam swap should be finished in a day if you start in the morning.

 

Definitely get new lifters and I would try to do the work yourself. It saves you money and is much more rewarding the first time you hear it run.

 

Look up comp cams short travel lifter. It limits piston movement at high rpm to help keep duration in the high rpm range

 

Part number I think is 875-16

 

I would not use LS7 lifters with that cam. It's playing with fire. I realize that some people have success with them, but there are so many threads about them failing that it's not worth it. Throw a set of 5206 Morel's in it and be done with it.

 

Why would it cost you 1k more? Heads are gonna come off anyay. After that lifters take less than 5 mins, am I missing something?

 

I'd recommend brian tooleys SLR lifters ($200 and better quality than ls7)

if you got a little more to spend, id say go with the lunati (EXACT same as morels just cheaper) link bar lifters.

 

You are right they are the same, but they aren't cheaper. Now if you compare the 5206 Morel's to the 72332-16 Lunati's then yes they are cheaper. But those lifters are not the same. Those are actually the same as the 5290 Morel's. To get the same lifter as the 5206 you have to buy the 72532-16 Lunati's.

 

Yea I know theres two different versions of both, three if you count the solid roller versions.

 

The 5290s aren't bad. I just don't know if they are worth much over the LS7 since they are a cast body lifter too. But they get rid of the lifter tray, so that right there is worth a lot.

The 5206s are definitely a huge step up. Just wish they were priced more like the 5290s...