I decided I wanted to put a new intake on my car, and I was gonna go with the Edelbrock Performer EPS 2701. I also considered putting a new cam in. Would this be a good idea? My car has 95k miles on it, and its just not fast enough for me. If I should put a new cam, what cam should I get? One from Edelbrock to match the intake?? I need some advice!!

 

alright... as far as the intake goes ive had VERY good luck with edlebrock performer rpm air gap intakes. around 200 dollars for aluminum. i also have seen articles in magazines that back this up. its a very good intake that seems to make good low end power being a dual plane but mysteriously also gets you near the power you would be making with a single plane. as far as cam... well... thats a hard one. id have to know just about everything about your motor... size.. bore... head specs... emissions tested or not... things like that. id call comp cams or crane cams as i think they will help you pick out a cam for you. if all else fails...... buy a ZZ4 :lol:

 

Well my motor is a stock 1980 L48. I'd love to buy a zz4, but I can't quite afford that.

 

How about a stock L82 cam? .450int and .460ex with relitivly low duration. Theyre pretty good and work well with all the other stock stuff. If you want more cam than that then check out the Comp Cams XE262. Anything bigger then the CC XE262 and youll need to change other stuff too, like TQ convertor if you run an automatic.

 

Would it really be worth my money to change the cam? What kind of power could I get from a change? And how much power would you expect from an intake change?

 

Ooh, things get complicated now. Everything works as a system so any gains or losses from a cam and intake change are dependent on your heads, valves, induction, and exhaust.

Post everything you know about your car from where the air goes in to where the exhaust comes out and your tranny and someone with a lot more experiance than me can probably give you a good suggestion / rough estimate.

 

Well my car is basically stock at far as I know. The only mods are an Edelbrock 1406 600 cfm Carb and dual Flowmaster exhaust.

 

I'm not an expert but it sounds like your heads are going to be your biggest bottleneck, athough the stock exhaust manifolds might not be letting your Flowmasters do their job to their full potential.

I woudln't think the 600 CFM carb would be a restriction unless you were to put on headers and maybe some work on the heads.

It sounds like it's an older motor so you might be looking at some valve train upgrades to keep a bigger cam happy. You might end up needing springs, timing chain and other goodies along with your cam and lifters.

Don't be afraid to call up someone like Crane. They'll grill you for all kinds of details incuding your tranny and final drive ratio to get you a cam that would best fit your requirements.

You might not even end up with a cam at all. You might get steered tward 1.6 ratio rockers on your current setup. There are lots of options and I'm not going to pretend to know the answers, getting as much info about the car as you can to people with experiance will get you what you need.

Good luck :thumbs:

 

:iagree:

Unless you plan on other mods, going much larger than what Jvette suggested could result in less performance rather than more. L48's have a pretty wimpy cam so something better would be the single best mod you can make for the money. IMO. the Edelbrock performer cam isn't enough of an improvement over stock to justify the cost or effort. Definitely get matched springs also. Even if the specs of the stock spings seem compatible with a higer lift, keep in mind that those specs were for your stock springs 95,000 miles ago and may no longer apply.

 

I see, It seems like this could end up costing me a good bit of cash. What do you guys think about just getting the intake manifold? Would that be a good idea?

 

I guess it depends upon your budget. If you do your own work, a cam swap with new springs and timing chain will run about $300 including gaskets, etc.. Considering your mileage, while apart I'd also replace anything that might be near the end of it's useful life and is being removed in the process. Water pump, thermostat, belts, hoses, etc., so the cost could be higher. Unless your stock carb is having a problem, you're not likely to see much of a power increase by changing it. A Performer intake will probably give a few hp and will work with a square bore carb also if you want to do that later. If more power is your goal, I would still recommend the cam swap. Even with a new intake, it should cost less than a new carb and manifold but provide about triple the power increase.

 

I don't have my stock carb, I have the edelbrock, one that will work with the manifold.

 

get a comp cam extream energy cam :yesnod:

 

More power is a relative question. Engine, trans and rear gear have to work together to get peak performance. The motor with a high lift cam won't work with a stock auto trans and a rear gear made for highway driving. Check out Cranecams.com for info on what a cam can do.

 

A stock 1970 LT1 intake is a good choice with a GM or TRW 151 hydraulic cam used in 327`s 350HP engines. With the milage on the engine replace the timing set and get a valve job with some new springs. :flag :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

For that motor, and the intake your planning, and with the 600 CFM carb, I would go for the XE262 as well.

You're street driving and want the GRUNT of that low end torque.

 

Cam will help the most. Intake change when cam is done works well.
You need to state trans. & gears.

 

I bought my '80 L48 at 96.5K miles in '97. In '99 I rebuilt the engine. Glad I did as the crown on the #2 piston was pitted bad and the engine was showing its age.

If it were me and I was considering a cam/intake change, I'd make a few other changes at the same time or instead. Northern Auto Parts at http://www.northernautoparts.com sells a 350 rebuild kit (oversizes allowed) with namebrand parts and your choice of about 10 Crane Energizer cams for about $350. That includes moly rings, hypereutectic pistons, energizer cam/lifters, FelPro gaskets, Mellings Hi-vol oil pump, Cloyes true roller, Clevite 77 bearings, and probably a few other items that escape me.

After that change, you would be in a better position to realize benefit from the RPM Air Gap manifold (and the requisite headers, duals, mufflers, carb, ignition). Unless you are planning to change all of this, the Air Gap and Cam alone will be limited by the rest of the components.

If a rebuild isn't in the picture, I'd start saving now and do the intake at the same time.

Question: Is hood clearance an issue? I think the RPM Air Gap may be too tall for the stock air cleaner on a 1980. I run the Edelbrock 3701 EGR manifold (same as 2101 except has EGR) and can use the stock air cleaner. If you go taller (RPM or RPM Air Gap), I think you will have to go with an aftermarket, short open-element air cleaner.

 

I have a stock L48 with auto. I got edelbrock intake 2101, Comp Cam 260H and Hooker headers. Will be installing this month. I was told, these upgrades would get me another 50-75 HP. Well worth the money IMO. I will let you know how it goes.

L48 heads are crappy...but I am saving those to be done next year, with new 383 :jester

 

You may get that 50-75hp increase in gross horsepower performance but rearwheel performance will be in neighborhood of 20-25hp. Not a bad increase.

Remember to add a good recurve, carb calibration and tune-up and you may see more at the wheels.