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I also posted them on the Impala SS forums but I wanted to get more opinions.
I have a 1994 F-body LT1 going into my 96' Caprice. The car has a mid range 4L60e and a 2k stall converter also going in with the engine. My question is this.
With a 2k stall converter am I better going with the F-body cam or the B-body cam? I know the B-body cam is supposed to be aimed more at torque or power under the curve but does having a 2k stall help to mitigate the higher power band of the F-body cam? I could go with a higher stall converter but I 'm trying to keep this swap from getting out of control so I'm trying not to buy extra items if I don't need it.
Bottom line is the engine will stay stock minus a few bolt ons. I know gears help A LOT but I'm not doing gears. Stock 2.93 rear to start and eventually I'll end up with the 3.08 gears.
I have an 84' Vette with an LT1/T-56 swap so I don't need a hotrod. Mainly trying to see which cam I should use and if it's worth the extra money for a 2,400-2,600 stall converter. I would like to be able to use what I have.
Thoughts?
The B-body cam does make more TQ down low vs the F body. Mostly because the B-body weights quite a bit more than the F body
I have a 96 Impala and when it was just a "bolt on" car (stock cam) I went with a 2000-2200 stall with 3:42's (had 3:08) and absolutely loved that combo for a B-body. I did have 1:6 RR (poor mans cam) and PCM tuning
You could just pull the cam from the Caprice and use it on the F body LT1 with aluminum heads
Your point about having a slightly higher stall though may likely mitigate the difference between the F & B body cams. The F-body LT1 had 10 more HP than the B-body iron head LT1.
I would assume you may need a slight PCM teak so the B body tune is happy with the F body LT1 cam, IDK so ask a tuner. If swapping rear gears you will need a re-program anyway. Mail order tune would be fine for any of this
Then again there is one of Lloyds cams that work well with stock heads and a heavier B body vs the stock F or B body cam
The B-body cam does make more TQ down low vs the F body. Mostly because the B-body weights quite a bit more than the F body
I have a 96 Impala and when it was just a "bolt on" car (stock cam) I went with a 2000-2200 stall with 3:42's (had 3:08) and absolutely loved that combo for a B-body. I did have 1:6 RR (poor mans cam) and PCM tuning
You could just pull the cam from the Caprice and use it on the F body LT1 with aluminum heads
Your point about having a slightly higher stall though may likely mitigate the difference between the F & B body cams. The F-body LT1 had 10 more HP than the B-body iron head LT1.
I would assume you may need a slight PCM teak so the B body tune is happy with the F body LT1 cam, IDK so ask a tuner. If swapping rear gears you will need a re-program anyway. Mail order tune would be fine for any of this
Then again there is one of Lloyds cams that work well with stock heads and a heavier B body vs the stock F or B body cam
I thought about getting a new cam but I didn't want the project to snowball. If I use a stock cam then I don't need to do any work to the valvetrain. If I do one thing there are a dozen other things I'll want to do or need to do.
Do they still have the LT4 Hotcam kit?
Think that picks up about 30rwhp and maybe a little more with bolt ons/tune.
If you can get a deal on it its an option, although I think most on here will say to just go bigger, but not everybody wants the biggest gains, so it could be a consideration.
I also posted them on the Impala SS forums but I wanted to get more opinions.
I have a 1994 F-body LT1 going into my 96' Caprice. The car has a mid range 4L60e and a 2k stall converter also going in with the engine. My question is this.
With a 2k stall converter am I better going with the F-body cam or the B-body cam? I know the B-body cam is supposed to be aimed more at torque or power under the curve but does having a 2k stall help to mitigate the higher power band of the F-body cam? I could go with a higher stall converter but I 'm trying to keep this swap from getting out of control so I'm trying not to buy extra items if I don't need it.
Bottom line is the engine will stay stock minus a few bolt ons. I know gears help A LOT but I'm not doing gears. Stock 2.93 rear to start and eventually I'll end up with the 3.08 gears.
I have an 84' Vette with an LT1/T-56 swap so I don't need a hotrod. Mainly trying to see which cam I should use and if it's worth the extra money for a 2,400-2,600 stall converter. I would like to be able to use what I have.
Thoughts?
Personally I’d go F-body cam with 1.6RR. The F-body cam sounds spot on perfect for your combo. Remember the F-body’s only came with an 1800 stall converter and the Corvettes had 2.59/3.07 gears.
Your car should be a nice cruiser.
Personally I’d go F-body cam with 1.6RR. The F-body cam sounds spot on perfect for your combo. Remember the F-body’s only came with an 1800 stall converter and the Corvettes had 2.59/3.07 gears.
Your car should be a nice cruiser.
That's not a bad idea. I would have to source a cheap F-body cam that works with the pin driven opti as the 94' I have is the spline drive cam.
My buddy mentioned to me I might like a 2,400-2,600 rpm stall converter. I would think with the stock F-body stall being 1,800 that the stock F-body cam is already in what would be it's rpm band. So by that logic a 2k stall on an f-body cam in a B-body should be ok. I'm more concerned about getting the heavy B-body going. ( I know rear gears do more for that but I'm not at that stage yet, I'm not even sure if I'll ever do gears)
I got this tranny and the 2k stall TC from my buddy who ran it in a 94' Caprice. That car with just an intake and catback (and this tranny/TC) ran a 14.5 at the track full weight. It seemed like it took off pretty well. I'm just trying to make the best use of the items I already have or cheap OEM parts. I would consider stepping up a bit on the converter but would I really need to? This is just a cruiser car that would be fun to streetlight to streetlight blast once in awhile. Nothing more.
Will the 2k converter be enough or will I see a substantial gain in takeoff with a 2,400-2,600 TC?
The best my full weight Road Master will 60' is 2.05x (14.6x 1/4, 4450# ~2k DA)
12" converter - stock appearing/driving but IDK, seemed to flash at 2400 rpm (on the logger). Twas in the car when I bought it...
3.42s, 26.5" tires, 1 5/8 mid length headers, stock b cam etc...
I thought it launched a bit lazy - my subjective opinion.
Purchased a 10"/3k stall but haven't had it to the dragstrip yet, butt dyno says it is much better.
A friend of mine has a mid 90s 1/2 ton 2wd chevy pu with a stock '93 vette LT1/4l60e swapped in. 3.73s, manifolds Y-piped to 3" single (brezinski?) with a dump. It was running 8 tenths quicker (13.8x) than me. IIRC he claimed ~5800 rpm shift points. Never paid any attention to how it 60'...
Either will work for that car/combo but if it were me I’d go for the 2400-2600. Police cars were rumored to have stalls around that, some earlier C4’s had converters around there, and some 4.3 S10’s stalled around there.
I’d go for the 2400-2600. Police cars were rumored to have stalls around that, some earlier C4’s had converters around there, and some 4.3 S10’s stalled around there.
Never heard of a 9C1 (police package) B-body having anything near a 2400-2600 stall. The S-10 converter was a go to "poor mans" stall upgrade (IIRC about a 1800-2000 stall) for stock B-bodys early on although the weight of the B-body and more powerful LT1 vs the S10 truck killed those TC if the engine was beyond stock.
OP, given your posts go with the F-body cam and 2k stall but get 3:42's. The 2.xx gears you have are your biggest hurdle in getting the car moving off the line
If you did a higher stall TC (2400-2600) than absolutely plumb in another external trans cooler. The 2k stall you have is fine with the stock B body radiator and air trans cooler
I'm not sure what this "power band" is that you're referring to OP, but this is my 93 unrestricted. The pull starts at 2000 and goes to 5700ish. Motor is internally bone stock, stock manifolds, mandrel bend 2.5" downpipe, 3" after the y with a bullet, and **** pipe Lowe's intake with cone filter.
That's how we pretty much all Dyno in our class, but we end up restricting down to 260/310. In that configuration, it makes peak torque as soon as I crack the gas down at 2000 RPM. I tried it before at 1500 and got the same result.
That's how we pretty much all Dyno in our class, but we end up restricting down to 260/310. In that configuration, it makes peak torque as soon as I crack the gas down at 2000 RPM. I tried it before at 1500 and got the same result.
are you guys getting that by tuning or by advancing/retarding stock cams?
My buddy mentioned to me I might like a 2,400-2,600 rpm stall converter. I would think with the stock F-body stall being 1,800 that the stock F-body cam is already in what would be it's rpm band. So by that logic a 2k stall on an f-body cam in a B-body should be ok. I'm more concerned about getting the heavy B-body going. ( I know rear gears do more for that but I'm not at that stage yet, I'm not even sure if I'll ever do gears)
I got this tranny and the 2k stall TC from my buddy who ran it in a 94' Caprice. That car with just an intake and catback (and this tranny/TC) ran a 14.5 at the track full weight. It seemed like it took off pretty well. I'm just trying to make the best use of the items I already have or cheap OEM parts. I would consider stepping up a bit on the converter but would I really need to? This is just a cruiser car that would be fun to streetlight to streetlight blast once in awhile. Nothing more.
Will the 2k converter be enough or will I see a substantial gain in takeoff with a 2,400-2,600 TC?
Don't ever underestimate what a really good torque converter will do for getting a heavy car going. Everybody thinks they need to jump to gears and gears are great, don't get me wrong but there's something about a 4L60 that makes it beg for more converter. The right combination of gear, converter and camshaft would have your boat pretty nimble.
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Stock LT1 cam options 
