OK. It seems like a perfectly good time to upgrade a cam and add some ponies to the new transplant motor while it's still on the hoist prior to the install. While cams can be expensive, many are not too bad in cost, but I'm wondering if I should bother. Here is what I've got, and what I'm going for - any suggestions?
I have a stock 1988 K5 Blazer (it's kind of sexy in the Deliverance sort-of way) and I'm going to install an LMG 5.3L and 4l60e from a 2008 Tahoe. The donor engine and transmission are stock with pretty low miles (about 67K). My goal is to get better gas mileage and more than double my HP from the Blazer's Gen II 5.7l with TBI. I'm not trying to make a monster truck, and I'm sure as hell not trying to make a racer.
Would a cam upgrade be worth my time and money? If I do it, I guess I should do it soon, but I have two concerns: first, will it really be worth it for my goals (if so, what cam would work best); and second, will a cam upgrade make the re-flash harder to program? I ask the second because there is a guy, Brendan Patten at http://http://www.lt1swap.com/geniv.htm, and he sort of suggests that flashing an E38 PCM (what I have for my Gen IV) is challenging.
I really would like this engine to be dependable, and I'm quite happy with a mere 330 stock HP. Any thoughts or info on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!