LM7 upgrades for rock crawler??

[bangbangskeetskeet]

We are talking torque curves here. The dyno doesn't lie when it comes to the actual curve and those boltons are very basic ones the OP suggested he would be using. The 5.7 is only very slightly different from the LM7 power wise. Also car vs truck doesn't change a torque curve on a dyno. The LS6 cam shows significant gains for the price including down low. You can't expect big gains down low no matter what the cam. He asked what stock cam would work and still receive a bump in performance. It will still be better than stock which is what he asked.

Whats the compression of a stock LS1...10.5:1. The compression of a stock LM7...9.1:1.
It makes a difference. Thats why when you add more parts to the LS1 you will net larger gains across the board period. Sure adding the flat tops to the LM7 will help with the compression, but you still lack the displacement.

And yeah I know that its a budget build so why not save the money needed to do the cam swap and spend it on something more usefull like saving it to buy a maggie or gears.

[Frenchy]

Want torque? Add compression. Flat top pistons, mill the heads. Look into EPS "Truck Torque" cams. Use the truck intake, stock tb. Dyno tune it to get the timing and fuel curve absolutely perfect. Allen at NP is a good tuner, but mail order just cannot account for all the variables. Find a decent local guy, or buy HPTUNERS and email logs and tunes back and forth.

[tdkask]

You mean a Magnuson Superchargers? Isn't that $5k? Not the budget we were looking for. The HP/TQ numbers I mentioned were flywheel, I guess. We cannot begin to guess the losses by the time it goes through a manual trans, 2 transfer cases, and extremely low axle gearing. It'd get beat by every Kia on the strip, but then crawl over it in the parking lot.

Though it's ghetto-fabbed, the exhaust will be practically wide open, the largest restriction being where the manifold flange is. The intake is wide open too. Can I not expect 300 HP/330 ft/lbs?

His goal is to go through the bearings and rings, so since the heads are off I figured why not do what we can on the cheap... remember, the engine and harness and PCM will be less than $450. There's a local junkyard that sells by the part generic, no a busted up 4 cyl and a LS7 are priced the same, though you'd never get you hands on something like that. So going back for a oil pan from this car and pistons from that truck is cheap, maybe cheaper than he could get back for his pulls on eBay or something, and can maybe find a LS1 cam or LS6 or something pretty cheap. A very mild gasket match and blend of heads is all we're comfortable with doing in the garage here.

So we wanna know if we are getting a cheap cam from eBay or a forum, what's a good suggestion? I can get a LS1 with springs for cheap, and was wondering how that and LR4 pistons and a good tune will do?

Again cost-minded, anyone have any experience with garretttuning.com? I'm sure Nelson is good if you recommend them that solidly, but would we do bad at the other route at half the price? How likely are we to need a retune in our senario?

I really appreciate all the input. I know there will be different perspectives, but really am focused on the budget. Thanks, and keep it coming.

[Frenchy]

An ls6 cam is the only stocker you could justify vs. time and expense

[kerrige]

With time and know how swapping to 4.8 pistons will be some serious bang for your buck. As for retunes you will most likely want to make changes later right? Then yes you will need retunes later, most likely several times. If you really are sure you won't ever want a retune I believe NP offers something called a hot rod tune. Cheaper, but no free retunes.

[bangbangskeetskeet]

Yeah a Maggie is more expensive but will net you 2-3x more than all the stuff you're going to do now. Your truck your decision.

Seeing how you're not going to spend that kind of money most likely why not take the money for the cam swap and get some long tube headers to free up the exhaust?