I just bought this cam...

Cam Motion custom grind
Dur @ .050 230 intake and 235 exhaust
Lift 593 intake and 598 exhaust
112 Lobe sep and 108 intake centerline

To go with these heads...

TEA Stage II 5.7l 908 castings, milled 0.050 w/ Comp 1.440” 978 springs 2.02 intake 1.60 exhaust


I bought 908 casting heads without knowing the differences between them and my stock '99 heads. The perimeter bolts don't bother me. I've already purchased '98 valve covers. The issue I have is the notch cut out the bottom. Am I alright with getting stock '98 head gaskets, or do I go to a machine shop to fill in the notch and get '99+ metal gaskets?

Cam Motion said I need to figure out the pushrod length myself. My heads are milled .050, my gaskets will be stock thickness (I think?), and the base circle of the cam is the same as stock (I think?)... then I need 7.350 length pushrods correct? I don't know the stock base circle dimension, but I can get a micrometer to measure it on the new cam if that can make a difference. If somebody could tell me the stock base circle dimension I'd appreciate it.

LS2 timing chain. That's still a good choice, correct?

LS6 oil pump. Porting really necessary?

 

Those heads are milled quite a bit.. make sure that cam clears PTV.

LS2 chain is good, I spent the extra dough for a ported pump.. I think it's worth it.

Those pushrods sound right.

 

flycut for intake valve for sure. pushrod length will probably be 7.350.

 

Damn, I did not want to flycut the pistons.

 

There is a pushrod calculator in the sticky. I'm going to be using it when I decide on a cam

 

.050 mill with a cam like that will for sure require flycutting . also the coil packs fit different on the 98 models though you maybe ableto fab something up .

 

Would you say this cam would work on stock heads with the correct springs without flycutting?

Porting an oil pump allows for more oil to flow, while shimming allows for more oil pressure

 

Watch you head gasket thickness, it will change your push rod length also.

 

Then install the cam on a 111 ICL instead of 108. Recheck PTV of corse. That is if you really, really don't want to cut the pistons.

 

I did not realize I could do that. How will this affect performance?

 

You can install the cam wherever you want. Advanced, retarded, wherever. General rule of thumb is the more advanced the cam is, the lower the powerband, and the more retarded it is, the higher. I know some big inch Pontiac guys that intentionally retard the crap out their cams to kill bottom end torque, and move that power up to the converter flash point. It's all a big game.