Jwp2

Hey Folks,
doing a swap into a 78 Vette. Using an LM7. Plan to upgrade the intake and use headers. My question is...while I have the engine out, does it make sense to change out the cam. Thinking of does but looking for opinions...I don't have a ton of experience here.
Thanks in advance...JP

G Atsma

Yes it does being the engine is going in a Vette. Use the LS6 intake manifold and put in a cam that will let it rev more and bolster mid and upper range power. Call Cam Motion, Texas Speed and Performance, or the WS6Store for dependable cam advice. All 3 will help you.

Jwp2

RB04Av

My advice to you:

Go drive a truck.

Is THAT what you want a Vette to be a duplicate of?

Not that there's anything "wrong" with the LM7; for what it's meant to do, it does a reasonable job; but it would make just about as much sense to pull a 327 out of a derelict school bus and drop it into a 60s Vette, as doing the same thing with 2000s parts.

For the Vette, get a cam/springs kit from some one of the suppliers you see people talk about on this site. TSP, BTR, Vinci, CamMotion, Livernois, ws6store, etc. They know THESE motors specifically and understand with they want. Also get a converter; it's ASTOUNDING how much difference a properly chosen one of those can make. And consider rear gears as well if you have less than 3.42s in that 78, as is likely.

There's nothing wrong with the LM7 intake. In fact almost anything you can do to it will be a DOWNGRADE. If it'll fit under the hood, leave it alone.

G Atsma

RB04Av- It's going into a Vette, so the truck manifold won't fit under the hood. And about the 327 out of the bus; it's STILL a 327 and uses the same block as the Vette 327's. The origin of an engine is irrelevant, as long as the right pieces are used to make it fit its new home. An LM7 with a new cam, plus the upgraded intake and headers, will do a good job in a '78 Vette that HAD an engine that couldn't sneeze itself out of its own way. A STOCK LM7 would be a huge improvement over the original engine. What the OP is doing will be way better than that.

RB04Av

Right: except that a 327 out of a school bus probably had pitiful heads compared to what would have come in a Vette, and a truck cam (if there was such a thing back then, as opposed to a 929 "universal" one) as opposed to a 151 or 346 or some such. IOW just yanking a motor out of a school bus and plopping it into a Vette as-is would be TOTALLY inappropriate. Yanking a LM7 out of a work truck and plopping that into a Vette as-is would be just as inappropriate, for many of the same reasons. Except that in the case of the LM7 the heads aren't too bad, but the cam DEFINITELY needs an upgrade.

And also right, a 78 Vette is the absolute poster child for what the Frod people call the "plastic pig". Even a stock truck LM7, that idles as smooth as a baby's butt and runs out of steam before it really gets going good, is STILL a world better than a L48. But it still would DRASTICALLY benefit from a cam upgrade, just as a school bus 327 would have, before going into a "sporty" car.

Intake fitment would depend on what hood the car in question has... even a stock hood, wouldn't surprise me if it would at least come mighty close to a fit, with the possible exception of where it locates the TB.

G Atsma

Which is why he's here asking if he should change the cam. He's just being cautious. Of course I did advise to do so, and to contact a major cam guru as I, then you, have advised. With a mild cam, an LS6 intake, and headers, that LM7 will run just fine, and run circles around anything that came out in '78.

Jwp2

RB04Av

Depends on what you can actually buy... given that the fuel line from the tank to the motor isn't set up for high pressure, probably easiest to use an external pump, mounted under the hood. Wouldn't be too surprising though, to find that there's complete HP setups available for that kind of car, with in-tank pump, all the lines, etc. Details will depend significantly on whether the LM7 you have has the FPR as part of the pump and electronically controlled (04 or thereabouts, up) or on the fuel rails (earlier).

APillow

iTrader: (3)

Hood clearance is the real question for intakes. Stock truck intake is tall, but a performer - don't let the ugly fool you. TBSS is medium height and is a beast (cheap new and GM parts as well). Any of the LS1/LS6 intakes requires some changes, but if needed for fitment then well you gotta do it.

IMO just get a new LS6 stock GM cam along with GM Blue springs (LS6/LS2) and have a blast. Cheap and easy with all GM parts. Revs all day to 6500 with joy and provides a little under 400 flywheel.

Fueling is very car specific. See if there is a company that makes a retrofit FI capable fuel tank and go from there. Don't be shocked when the fuel system costs more than the motor

Tuskyz28

The trickflow cams are priced very nicely compared to other brands.

Jwp2

Jwp2

Do I need an adapter for the LS6 Intake to mate to the cathedral port heads?....i saw adapters being sold online but I wasn't sure if they were necessary or not....any comments?

G Atsma

LS6 intake IS a cathedral port manifold. The LS6 had cathedral port heads. It'll bolt right on

CAMMOTION PERF

Hello JP,

There is a substantial power gain that can be realized on a stock LM7 with a camshaft upgrade. 70-100 HP is possible. Have a look at our Titan Series of camshafts:
http://www.cammotion.com/camshafts/t...nce-camshafts/

If you have any questions, just reach out to me: Steven at CamMotion.com

G Atsma

OP, you want a good cam? Call these guys! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

Absolutely do the cam now

If you choose to do it later you'll wish you had done it now

One really nice thing about doing it now, since you don't want to get into the heads, is you can turn the motor upside down on the engine stand while doing the cam swap and not have to worry about a lifter dropping into the block when you swap the cam with the heads on.

And definitely get with cam motion

Ls7colorado

iTrader: (3)

have you considered doing a carb intake?
for $1100 you can get the intake, carb, and ignition controller and not have to deal with the EFi stuff since its not going to be a daily driver or anything, just throwing that out there

APillow

iTrader: (3)

Good point! Really the best money out there IMO is the FiTech 70050 LS kit for the standalone management and harness all in one for $795. Granted you still have to run a FI fuel system or Command Center. My only complaint is that you cannot use a Fuel Composition Sensor (E85) with the FiTech kit.

I plan on changing the C10 from Carb to FiTech this fall. Stock truck intake manifold with external AEM fuel pump.

Ls7colorado

iTrader: (3)

Wow that is a great price, to bad the plastic intakes and injectors cost so much