Ok i finally am ready to install my Lunati vodoo cam into my 78 l48. But right now i want to search for some reading material on how to do it, so i can try to make the job a little bit easier.
I have a l48 auto 78 corvette, and its a flat tappet cam with 468"/488"lift cam, with lifters. What are some tools i will need, and parts besides the cam of course. Also what all will need to be removed... I will need to remove the carb and intake too right?
This will be my first major engine project to do, my dad has done alot with cars before, and rebuilt motors, but i watn to do it bymyself and learn so any help is appriciated.

Thank you
kyle

 

Remove carb, intake and radiator.

You'll need a puller for the harmonic balancer ($10 at the Zone, maybe you can rent one)

I found the oil pan gasket is a major pain - if I had to do this again with the engine in the car I'd buy the Felpro 1-piece pan gasket and a 2piece timing chain cover to make that job easier.

If this your first engine project I recommend a book with photos (How to rebuild a small block) - less than $20 at the book store, well spent money

 

Changing the cam is quite involved. You will have to pull the radiator, carb and intake and the distributor along with the valve covers and rocker arms. Then you can pull the push rods out and the lifters will pull out easy with a needle nose pliers. You will need a harmonic balancer puller to get that off. Now remove the timing cover buy dropping the oil pan a little taking the bolts off then pull the timing chain and gears. You can now pull the cam out but be very careful not to nick the bearings. Slide your new one in replace the timing chain and cover making sure your cam timing is set right. I would recommend using a new double roller timing chain if possible as they are around 30 bucks and the stock one is probably worn. Make sure to coat the cam in assembly lube and the lifters also when installing. Reassemble everything, torquing everything to correctly so that your engine doesn't fall apart or bind. Are you going to use new push rods? That may also be a good idea. Since you are new to engines find someone that knows what they are doing to adjust the rocker arms since this is very important if you want your engine to run right and not wipe lobes off your cam. A cam installation/removal tool will also be very helpful and can be had for around 20 bucks.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

It isn't too hard. The hardest part is probably pulling the radiator. Be sure that when it is all said and done that you properly break-in the cam otherwise all that work will be for naught.

 

Use lotsa moly lube on every part: cam, lifters, pushrods, rockers. Use rotella or delo diesel oil. Use some GM oil additive too. Make sure it fires right up and run it at a varying 2000-2500 rpm for 20 mins. Drain the oil and remove the oil filter. Replace that with more delo or rotella and another filter. Drive it for 500 miles, recheck valve lash and change the oil . DON'T FORGET to use either rotella or delo at every oil from now on. Or, you can use various manufacturer's racing oils. Tha main point here is to use an oil with some zinc in it. Flat tappets require it!! Good luck mang.

Brett

 

with that much lift. you may want to replace the valve springs

vc

 

not to hijack, but I'm still playing with the idea of a head and cam swap in the near future myself... The rad will have to come out I know, but wil the ac condensor have to come out as well?

 

Yes, the cam is almost the same length as the engine when you pull it out, and you need as much room up front as possible. Plus if you are using the cam removal tool that will make it even longer but at least you will have a good grip on it. I never used the tool before but I would have like to have had one now that I look back on it.

 

I would look closely at the valve springs too. Make sure they can handle the lift of your cam and have correct pressures and won't bind. It's not difficult to change the springs without pulling the heads, it just requires you to be careful. If you change the springs, it's also a good time to install new PC valve seals. At the worst, you have to pull a head.

I've always used some long (3") bolts as a handle on the cam, until I get it out far enough to get a good grip. Go slow and don't bang up the bearings, use LOTS of lube on the cam, and EOS.

MYBAD79 said it right- get a book, get two books. Then get really familiar with the required steps, READ,READ,READ.

 

Not only is that cam (219/227 .468/.489) likely too much for OE L48 springs ... likely too much for OE L48 rocker arms ... likely too much for OE L48's relatively low compression (~8:1) and OE L48 auto trans & OE L48 rear gear ratio. Suggest less cam ... one step down (213/219 .454/.468).

BTW ... OE L48 cam specs about 194/204 .390/.410

 

I talked to the guy at lunati and they said my cam should be fine for my motor. I plan on replacing the spring and get a set of good rocker arms. As for the compression i want to bolt up the shim gastgets on that should push my 8.1 up to 8.6.....and if thats the case, a new set of 57 or 64cc heads are in my future, but like i said the tech guy at lunati said that cam shoudlnt be a problem hopefully he is right. I might wait to put it in and wait till spring break to put it in, and do a overhaul to my motor at the same time.

 

o.k. i debated on whether to throw my $.02 in here since i know from being on this forum for a while how easy it is for other people to spend your money.
remember, anytime you do engine work, there is a fine balance between expensive and cutting corners. no amount of work is more expensive than having to rebuild the same motor twice in a very short period of time.
having said that, i would suggest you pull your heads. this is really not too difficult to do. i think you need to do this to check the condition of the cylinders and piston tops. clean the piston tops off and check for a ridge inside the cylinder toward the top. if the ridge is pretty bad, you may be throwing a lot of money at an engine that will break a ring the first time you rap the throttle.
while the heads are off, you can spend some quality time with them. this will give you the opportunity to clean off all the years of carbon and gunk inside the chambers and on the valve stem that you otherwise wouldn't be able to. you can get a little extra power with a simple dremel by cleaning up the casting flash and 'port matching' the intake to the heads (if you do a search with my name, i did some extensive home porting about 3 months ago). it will be far easier to change the springs while the heads are off. talk to a local machine shop and find out how much they would charge to angle mill the heads to try and give you as much bump in CR as you can get. don't worry, it won't be much, but every little bit helps. you can also go with one of the ultra thin steel head gaskets for that little bit too. there are some special proceedures on how to use these but just follow the directions and you'll be fine.
if you can't afford that, that's fine but ABSOLUTELY and without fail, replace your valve seals. these are too inexpensive not to and sucking any more oil into your chamber is just bad, bad, bad.
i would also recommend you at least speedy sleave the damper snout. it will no doubt have a groove cut into it from nearly 30 years of running.
make sure you check the dizzy drive gear while you have it out since you're installing a brand new cam.
i agree with what pretty much everyone else has been saying too.

 

Before you pull the old cam, take off the fuel pump and remove the pushrod or you will be asking why it is stuck and won't come out.

Oh...and don't forget to put it back on

 

Oh, that is a good one.

 

LOL, how many post we seen on that one?

 

Just about all of the "My cam seems to be stuck...what am I doing wrong?" posts

 

Speedy sleave??? How would I know I need one? Where do you get one?

 

Look at the snout(?) on the balancer, if you can see/feel a little groove where the front seal rides, you need a speedy sleeve. Fel-Pro has a gasket kit that includes the sleeve, I think the whole kit is about $20.

Clean the balancer, put the proseal on the inside of the sleeve per the instructions, with the balancer laying flat on the bench put the sleeve on the snout and tap it into place with a piece of wood and a medium size hammer. Be gentle and hit it straight!

Then you've got a brand new sealing surface for a very small amount of cash.

 

If you are doing this in the car, remove the hood. Believe me, it'll make taking the rad out MUCH easier. Not a difficult job, but take your time and read.

While you are changing the cam, it's a good idea to change the timing gear/chain too.

Good Luck