Went with the mild 208/216 .500/.500 113lsa. Comp918s and Thunder Racing's 7.400 heat treated push rods.

For the guys who have installed cams...How did you keep the valves from falling into the cylinders? It says to use compressed air in the Haynes manual. Can I just get a fitting like that at any reputable autoparts store?
Also, when installing the new cam, do I have to worry about cam bearings getting out of their right spot? I asked about this in the Internal/ Engines section and a guy said that the bearings would have to be hit pretty hard befor they would shift. Does this sound correct?

 

Ryan i told you that you do not have any thing to worry about with the bearings. just do not knick or scratch them and you will be ok. as far as valves im not sure but the idea sounds good. also be careful not to drop any lifters or you will have a little problem. some one else help him out.
Ryan

 

Yes you need compressed air to hold the valves up. There are fittings available at most auto parts stores for this. You can also use the fitting from a compression tester if you can adapt your compresser hose to it. Of course if you want to go the knuckle dragging route you can feed a length of rope in the spark plug hole as you come up to TDC on that cylinder and that will keep them from falling as well.
Don't worry, it will be a fun project.

 

I have that exact same cam except I used my LS6 springs. I just used some fittings from Autozone from their tool section to adapt to the spark plug holes. I set my compressor on 60#'s and I had no problem. Do get a nice valve spring compressor though. I also suggest getting the magnets to hold the lifters up. I didn't this time and a few dropped on me. Then I had to remove the head to put em back. Not trying to scare you but the magnets are cheap compared to a head gasket set.
For tuning I shift at 6000 rpm with the throttle body drilled to 13/64. Other than that no problems with drivability. I like it a lot. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />

 

sleeper silverado: that was you who said that in the Engines section? Not trying to be a pest by asking the same question twice, I just wanted to get a second opinion. thanks man

L82gofast: the fitting from a compression tester sounds like a good idea. I'm not worried at all about this install. It is pretty straight foward. You guys at this site give me all the info i need <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" /> thanks

jlwz71:I knew you had the same cam and I remembered reading your post about how the LS6 cam and some other cam performed to this one. Ya for sure I am going to do the magnet to lifter plan. Thanks for the tuning advice too. If I have more questions about the cam I'll be sure to ask the guy with experience. thanks
Hey jlwz71, just curious did you ever do a before and after dyno or just a seat-o-meter?

Late <img border="0" alt="[Truck]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_truck.gif" />

 

Well where I work we HAD a dyno but due to the budget cuts it was wholesaled. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Mad]" src="gr_images/icons/mad.gif" /> It was all SOTP bud, but I tell you it made a difference in my 99.