So, the title says it all... I'm hoping to hear a lot of opinions.

My goal for the truck is either a mild cam, or larger roller rockers, long tube headers, full exhaust system, cold air intake, throttle body spacer, and a tune.

I'm new to the forum; a new GM owner (previously a ford and dodge owner), still learning the lingo, and the truck.

Also hoping that you guys might be able to school me a little as far whats available for the truck and the types of mods that I could eventually perform.

Thanks.

 

A larger ratio set of rockers will only really effect your lift numbers.

Get a custom cam.

 

Do you happen to know the cam specifications for my application? Specifically int/ehx lift @ .050, int/exh duration, LSA?

I've been searching, theres alot of info on this website, but havent been able to locate it yet.

 

You mean your stock cam specs?

 

Exactly... and what is the stock ratio for the rocker arms?

 

Rocker arms are a pretty good upgrade as they still work for HP, and ease of installation on the classic SBC. But on this LS based motor the 1.8's will be a bit much for stock springs according to the guy I talked to at Comp Cams when I asked a year or so ago.

So for just a bit more work you can have a cam that will really broaden your torque band, and get some really nice HP increases plus higher RPM performance.

 

Ok... So if I decided to get a cam, what should I get (I want a nice lope, but nothing to extreme, reliable, and one that will work with the stock heads and intake)??? The cam should be geared more towards torque than high rpm HP.

And, If i purchase a cam, what other components should I also purchase to get the most out of it, and ensure that my valve train doesnt wear prematurely?

I've read that its a good idea to change the pushrods and lifters, would it also be wise to upgrade the rockers too?

Are there any other parts that I will need?

 

i did the 1.6 ratio ones on my old 97 and it made a big differance stock is 1.5 but for the money on these new motors just do a cam swap the only reason i did them on my old truck is cause i got them for 100 bucks

 

Gen IIIs are 1.7 ratio stock. I'm not sure on the Gen IVs.

 

Do you plan to upgrade the torque converter or are you sticking with the stocker? There are a bunch of options out there that will work. On a daily driver with the stock converter a cam like mine works nicely, but is considered a baby cam by most. I've driven in a truck (tdrumm's old rcsb silvy) with a Crane/Vinci 210/218 .551/.551 112 and it worked great with the stock converter too. (It was even better with WCCH StageII heads and a Yank TT3000 mated to an FLT Level5 though).

As for other things you'll need, upgraded springs are a must. I'm running LS6 springs with my cam. If you increase the lift and go with more agressive lobes, consider something like the PAC 1218's. I recommend hardened pushrods (most cam manufacturers recommend 7.4 with heads that haven't been milled), and you can leave the lifters alone on a GENIII engine. They're roller lifters and don't wear like old school flat tappet lifters. Replacing the lifters requires removing the heads. I like to replace all of the involved gaskets, a lot of guys have re-used theirs without a problem. SDPC and TSP and a few other of our sponsors sell cam swap kits that come with all of the necessary gaskets and a new crank bolt, which is torque to yield and shouldn't be re-used. If you decide to re-use your gaskets, get a new crank bolt at least.

Not trying to be a dick, but if you check out the search button up top you'll find that all of these questions have been already asked a million times and all of this info I'm giving you is already on this site, probably with links and part numbers You could try typing in "cam swap" for starters, and try a few other things that may lead you to the info that you seek