need advice for top end rebuild

[kerrige]

valves should be fine same goes for the rocker arms but dont forget to budget for some good bolts some ARP bolts would be an excellent investment since they can be reused if you ever want to pull them again.

[NAREJEPP]

Thanks for the help
I'm planning on getting this going pretty soon I hope. A couple more questions though

I was looking into swapping the cam while I've got it apart, but I have little knowledge on cams as far as measurements go.
I would like a pretty mild cam, one that I don't have to worry about a stall or tune or anything, not to mention my completely stock tranny.
What kind of options are there? Or would it not be worth it?

And second, when I get the machine work done, I thought about getting the heads milled a little, but again, I only know the theory behind It and don't know exactly how that is going to translate. I know it is supposed to raise the CR which would equal more power, but again, I don't want to have to worry about a tune or any of that. Would that be worth it?

Educate me

[NAREJEPP]

bump

[skeet]

anytime you start upping parts from factory spec's youre gonna need a tune to compensate for the gas consumption and the idle issues and air flow and all the other BS that comes with it, sounds like youre better off leaving what you have alone and just clean things up, you start milling heads to up the compression, putting in a MILD cam, then probably wanting other things done cause you noticed gains like headers lol, you'll end up needing a trans

[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.

[kerrige]

Nice little price list of things for you
Cam Kit (cam springs pushrods) $600-700ish
Circle D 3k stall $400
Corvette Servo $20
LS2 Timing Chain $30
Bolts and gaskets $150ish
Built Trans $1500ish
Performance Heads $500-2000

With a Cam swap you could see 50-100 rwhp gains depends on cam
With a Cam/head swap maybe 70-125 rwhp gains depending on cam/heads

[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?