Christmas is coming up and I'm trying to see if I can get anything out of it. I've been contemplating over getting a cam. If I do, the comp cams 224/230 "503" sounds good. But I'm trying to figure out exactly what is needed for everything to work properly. What MUST I have? I hit up comp cams to ask what they would say and the guy told me valve springs, retainers, valve locks, rolling rockers, and 3.73 gears. But reading on here, some say you only need valve springs and gears. I know I'm not getting away without gears (2.73s now), but will the valve springs finish it up?

One more thing, could I go with something less than 3.73s? I'm not liking the drivability of 3.73s for a DD.
Thanks!

 

3.73s are not gonna kill your daily driving. i mean you bought the car knowing you werent going to get gas mileage like a civic. you can run te 503 with just new springs, retainers and locks but adding the roller rockers and gears. i dont know what kind a miles you have on your car but you might want to inspect you lifters and make sure theyre okay too. its just one of those measure twice, cut once kind of principles.

 

The lifters should be ok. 65K miles on the motor.

I'm having a hell of a time finding a stock 3 series differential for gear swap.

 

I have some stock 3.42's that you can have for cheap. I pulled them out of my car at 50k. They are in great shape. I have the stock diff also.

Im running 4:10 and they are a bit much for the street, but oh well if you wanna play you gotta pay.

 

Yes! That is exactly what I was hoping for. You come to me . Sending PM

 

Well I'm going to take on 97LT1's offer, but do you guys think 3.42s is ok for the cam?

 

I just installed a 502 cam and elected to go with the high end goodies to opimize the cam. I went with 1.6 full RR, cromololy PR, Beehive springs, 10 degree keepers and retainers and I think the number was 875 on the lifters. I spent the extra money the first time so it won't have to come apart again. All these items were suggested on the cam box as the best set up to get the most stable valve train with the least friction. I'm running 3.42 gears thru an Alburn unit. I'll be going to the shop in the morning to install the new tune and see how she runs. Can't wait to see what kind of numbers she puts down, shes been apart for 2 months.

 

you're going to want a stall too. probably about a 3500 or so im guessing

 

Already got one

 

I have a question about the cam. What will the end look like where it drives the optispark? Would it look like this:
Or this:

Cause I had an issue with the MSD opti-spark I bought that hasn't been installed yet. My stock opti looks like a female hole for the dowl to go in it. And the MSD has one sticking out like picture #2. I learned that you can pull the dowl sticking out the cam to match it up right. But I just want to make sure the cam will have the right end to fit in the opti.

 

You just have to pull that little dowel pin out and line up the MSD's dowel in you cam.

 

Do these part numbers match up (compcams website)? 26918-16, 787-16, 648-16, 1016-16. I'm confused about the valve springs cause its for a ls1.

Part numbers get lost in translation from website to website. So could someone tell me the part #s of these but from a cheaper sponsor. Thanks

 

the cam numbers aren't gonna match with the stock 1.5 ratio rockers, upgrade to the 1.6 FULL roller rockers to maximize the cam.

 

Technically I could run the stock 1.5 ratio rockers and work. It is advertised with that setup. But I already chose the 1.6 to get the best performance. I just don't like how the rr's are more expensive than the damn cam!

 

looking to do this cam in my L31 vortec 350

i have the crane gold 1.6 full RRs, and 918 LS1 beehive springs and 787 retainers, i just had my heads refreshed when i did the RRs and springs, but need to refresh the bottom and drop in the cam

do i need the 648-16 valve locks or are the stock ones ok?

any updates on your swap?

 

Yikes, this is an old thread. Despite my lack of knowledge almost 2 years ago, I learned to replace ALL the valvetrain. So yes, get new valve locks.

My setup is no where near what I was tinkering around 2 years ago. I have a custom turbo cam, forged 383 stroker, t-76 turbo, stock ported heads, all new valvetrain, Midwest Chassis Fab 9inch.. the list goes on.

 

^^^lololol

 

yeah i know i was seaching for the 503 cam info and ran across this thread...figured with the light years ago you may have the info i was looking for

 

i am also interested in this i have a 503 but need to get my springgs and everything already have rr's but need springs and part#'s and for all related parts to do this

 

Here's my parts so far -- for the part # the "COM" might be different for other companies, but the # portion should still be the same.

Not saying this is the BEST way to do it, it's just the parts that I went with.

Comp Cams Rocker Arms COM1305-16
Comp Cams Pushrods COM7640-16
Comp Cams Flat Guide Plates COM4808-8
Comp Cams Valve Springs COM26918-16
Comp Cams Steel Retainers COM795-16
Comp Cams Spring Locators COM4705-16
Comp Cams Super Locks COM613-16
ARP 7/16 Rocker Studs ARP234-7202
Comp Cams CC503 Camshaft COM07-503-8