need advice for top end rebuild

[kerrige]

If you are looking for a somewhat mild cam a 220/220 is generally a very acceptable cam. It will give you good power without being over the top. Your right on the money about the heads if you get them milled it will raise the compression and give you more power. You will need different length push rods with this change. Depending on how extreme you go might have to run high octane all the time but if you keep it to 11:1 or lower you should be fine to just run premium pump gas although E85 is a fun alternative. I would say you should get it tuned no matter what cam or head changes you make. It will net improved gains and actually make it safer to run. I would recommend some kind of upgrade to your transmission which I am sure is getting tired by now. A corvette servo is simple to install and will cost in the neighborhood of 30$. A good cam and tune package will make your truck a whole new animal for sure. If you stay somewhat small you won't need a stall, but for the great deal you can get from Circle D might as well save your pennies and toss one in there. A cam and stall will help you hang with most people you will find on the street and eat rice all day long. You can still tow and DD with the right setup. Don't cheap out or wimp out most of the time you will regret it.

[NAREJEPP]

right now my biggest thing is doing all this without hurting the tranny. while i do want to go fast (who doesn't) i'm more concerned with upping my overall power while still having it be my DD, and being able to tow well.

about the vette servo, i was under the impression that these made the trans shift harder/faster, which is why i thought it might not be the best idea.

and the stall, i was under the impression, made it harder to tow and haul heavy loads. i tow and haul quite a bit, from boats to cars etc. so i did not think the stall would be ok either.

i'm all for the tune, and plan on getting one soon, but i didn't want to do the upgrades and then be forced to get one before i could drive it, since it is my DD. my budget is...limited, to say the least. i was thinking my tune would come a little later. i was aware of the pushrods needing changed if i milled the heads, but i was concerned with driveability. i always run 91 anyway, but ive heard of high CR's not being well suited for street and DD driving. i read somewhere that as a rule of thumb, you could expect about 30hp for every .5 of CR you gained. so i was only thinking about upping it .5-1 point only (keeping the tranny in mind). is that a realistic expectation? i'm thinking i would do either the milling or the cam, but not both. so which one would be better suited for my app?
and i guess the vette servo too, if that would help keep the tranny a little safer.

what do you think?

ps, i wanna thank everyone for helping me get this all sorted out, especially kerrige. you've given me alot to think about, and been very helpful, without harshing on my lack of experience/knowledge. thanks

[kerrige]

Your welcome gotta help where we can. I would be a little warry on keeping your current cam as I have seen the lobs start to wear at high mileage(bangbangskeetskeet's truck) So personally I go with the cam if I have to choose. I think there is no perfect rule of thumb on upping the compression ration. I think a cam will be more cost effective as head work gets expensive fast. I believe oleshifty or ssmidwest has a set of work heads for sale for $600. You will need a tune for it to run right with the cam and Nelson will send you a mail order tune just for your setup that should work just fine that you can install at the same time as the cam and keep it on the road. He also does free retunes if you make more changes down the road. Also one of the basic Circle D stalls will allow you to still tow no problem.

[NAREJEPP]

Your welcome gotta help where we can. I would be a little warry on keeping your current cam as I have seen the lobs start to wear at high mileage(bangbangskeetskeet's truck) So personally I go with the cam if I have to choose. I think there is no perfect rule of thumb on upping the compression ration. I think a cam will be more cost effective as head work gets expensive fast. I believe oleshifty or ssmidwest has a set of work heads for sale for $600. You will need a tune for it to run right with the cam and Nelson will send you a mail order tune just for your setup that should work just fine that you can install at the same time as the cam and keep it on the road. He also does free retunes if you make more changes down the road. Also one of the basic Circle D stalls will allow you to still tow no problem.

ok, if i go with the cam and decided to get a stall, what size should i go with? like 2500?
on a related note, what exactly does a stall do?

and with the mail tune, what should i expect to pay for that?

[NAREJEPP]

also, what about the lifters? could i just use factory style lifters with the cam swap?

and what about using a tranny cooler? would that make a difference in the amount of wear on the trans if i did end up adding some 30-50 hp?

[kerrige]

Okay basically the issue with a cam is often it moves the torque curve up in the rpm range. Now a stock TC with lock up at about 1800rpm but a higher stall doesn't lock up until whatever range you get it stalled to meaning your in the power right off the bat instead of the lag that you may notice after a shift or off the line. I would say a 2600 stall is a little small but probably great for you application because the 300mm stall from Circle D will allow you to tow and give you a little more performance. The 278mm will allow for a higher stall rpm about 2800-3200 which will get you more into your power, but only allows you to tow about 4000lbs. I would recommend a trans cooler either way. Just keeps your tranny happier and lasting longer. The trucool 40k is like 180$ and very much worth it. Lots of guys like theirs a lot and it is good extra insurance. You are going to see extra wear, but with 200k its going out sooner or later and a built trans will be a great investment when the time comes. You should be okay for awhile no guarantees.

A tune from nelson is $300 which is about the going rate and he does good work also one day later down the road you could make a road trip and get a live tune in SA from him. Definitely a good choice working with him.

A good lifter to use are the LS7 lifters.

[kerrige]

Some of these things you could also do a little bit at a time so you don't have to swallow the whole thing all at once. You could get a corvette servo, tranny cooler, and a NP tune first (since re-tunes are free and you pay shipping). Start getting the other parts a little at a time looking for good deals then do the cam swap and/or torque converter when you have got everything together and have time to decide exactly what combo you want. Also would allow you to save for some of the things you may want like a built trans. Just my 2 cents.

[NAREJEPP]

Some of these things you could also do a little bit at a time so you don't have to swallow the whole thing all at once. You could get a corvette servo, tranny cooler, and a NP tune first (since re-tunes are free and you pay shipping). Start getting the other parts a little at a time looking for good deals then do the cam swap and/or torque converter when you have got everything together and have time to decide exactly what combo you want. Also would allow you to save for some of the things you may want like a built trans. Just my 2 cents.

this is what i'm thinking. i was doing some more reading earlier, and i think that i am going to wait til i can get a performabuilt or comparable transmission in there. again, thanks for all the help.
i'm gonna definitely do my research and make sure that everything is the way i want it before i commit to anything. i may even just go ahead with a new(er) 5.3 or 6.0 swap. something i wouldn't be afraid to start packing on the power later down the road.

i like your idea about to trans cooler, servo, and tune first though. even with new engine and tranny, all of that can be used again.

thanks

[kerrige]

Might want to think about an 80e swap especially if you do a lot of towing. For about 2k you could have yourself a LQ4 and 80e that will give you power and reliability. Won't have to worry about an 80e dying on you until you really up the power
This is an addiction and it can really get outta hand fast