I figured this would be a good place to ask a few questions about the L33 I have.

I picked up an '05 L33 w/ 24K on the clock, but it had been in a truck that was in a garage fire. It had a deformed intake and cooked harness/coils.

I'll be swapping this engine into my '64 Impala SS. I pulled the heads to do some minor, minor casting clean up (some places call it "stage I porting" ) and want to swap out to a better cam. I plan on using Edelbrock's new EFI intake and 90mm TB, and will have LT headers. This is backed by a built TH350 w/ 3400 stall TC.

This is for a non-DD that will see a fair amount of freeway time. I need a functional and fun powerband. No emission issues to worry about.

WITH THAT SAID....

1. Since I've pulled the heads and have to get new head gaskets, what thickness would you use? Mil the heads? (Is it worth the effort for a minor CR bump?)

2. What cam would you use, considering the int and exh mods w/o emission issues? (I'm leaning towards the tried and true TR224 w/ 112 LS on reputation alone)

3. Since the 799's have "LS6 springs and retainers", shouldn't these be ok for the TR224?

4. Are the rod and main bearings worth switching out to Clevite 77's or something aftermarket? (Are the OEM bearings worth their salt?)

I've got a good idea of what I'm going to do, but some experienced opinions would be very useful!