ok all, if you have been following my mods at all, they are in my signature, you will see i am bolting up quite a few goodies. well dad has been helping me when i run into a bind and when i pulled the cam and slid the new one in, i saw a glint in his eyes.. he realized exactly what i was getting done on my car. so he asked me to throw a post out to recommend a solid roller cam for his LT4 and ask what woulkd be involved in the upgrade. he is getting antsy knowing i will be faster then him, he he :lol: and i don't think he is real happy about it. which is a good thing! getting him motivated again. so he has decided to get a set of AFR heads and a solid roller cam to compliment all else he has done to his car. h3ere is a list of whats on it so far:

not a daily driver but would like to keep it looking like a normal vette...
-96 LT4
-4.10 gears
-SLP 3" cat back
-adding Hooker ceramic longtubes (after he saw mine :lol: )
-randon tech 3" bullet cats
-edlebrock BBK 52 mm throttle body
-AFPR
-granatelli mass air flow sensor
-forced air intake through front cover
-msd 6AL
-adding taylor wires
-adding meziere electric water pump
-adding AFR 210 heads
-bfg 315 DR
-adding solid roller cam (looking for a power maker up to around 7000 RPM or higher :crazy: , he misses the old days when he had his 60's vettes that twisted high in the RPM spectrum. a hydraulic roller would be fine if spinning this high is feesible with one)

also, if anyone has a list of things needed to do in order for these motors to accept a hydraulic roller it would be very helpful!! thanks a million all!! also he is also considering in the future going to a 396ci motor but this is down the road, it will be an ongoing mod car!! and most likely never be sold. thanks again all!

chris
:cheers:


[Modified by lcvette, 8:25 AM 9/3/2001]

 

I'll be watching for info as well. I've been considering a solid roller as well but need more info.

 

At a minimum you are going to need a new cam (billet core), new valvesprings, and new lifters. If you don't have roller rockers you will need those also. I would highly recommend 7/16th's studs, but 3/8th's can work if you stay at the mild end of the spectrum.
Heads will have to come off for machine work for the solid roller springs; it would also be worthwile to get some portwork done to them.

 

thanks again Chris!!! well he has the bug, once my cam went in he got antsy, so now he is hunting for a set of AFR heads. can the AFR heads bepordered to specs to accept the roller cam valve springs and with the 7/16" studs? and what size head would you recommend. he does not want to have any port work done to his own heads but would rather have it done to a second set, don't ask why, he just wants to do it this way ad i learned long ago, let him do what he wants because all you do is get frustrated trying to persuade him otherwise.. also wat kind of specs on a solid roller and could you quote a price on a setup, i know you have been a tremendous help to us in the past, and i would like to give you some of our business, you've earned it 10 fold with advice and encouragement. here is what he wants, he would like to have a shift point of around 7k-7200, he likes high rpm power from when he uaed to run his old 283 in the 60's, so if thats how he wants it and he buys his own parts, let him make power how he see's fit, i gotta say though i a am an rpm junkie myself. i know torque is what drives the car but something about a high revving powerplant that just makes the car more excititng to drive instead of point and lug point and lug. any combo help would be great on this one guys!!! thansk a amillion

chrisP :D

 

hey dude, your dad will need to get a GOOD timing chain like the one from cloyes. comp cams makes drop in solid roller lifters for the lt4 (i have them).the chain is about 350 to 400 bucks and the lifters are about 400 also.as far as the cam goes 1.he either needs to buy the cam and springs from whoever he buys the heads from so that they are a matched set.or 2.call comp cams after he buys heads and tell comp his exact combo and they will custom make him a cam and matched spring combo. if he is going to go with more cubes later down the road he needs to buy the afr 210cc in my opinion. he also needs a bigger throttle body..... btw, what your dad is wanting to do i have already been there.so if i can be of any help i'll be glad to. if you have any more questions please contact me i am more than happy to help.Brad

 

Brad,
thanks alot, have we met at fayetteville yet? i know i have been there a few times but im not terribly great with names and may not have made the association between the forum name and a name name, make sense? well anyways, i will definateyl relay that information on to him. send me an email, im deep into my cam swap right now and am having a blast, she is on the way back together!! whoo hoo, picking heads up this afternoon from macghine shop and then heading back down to southport to try and finish up a few more things!! drop me a line sometime and take crae of yourself!!

thanks man,
chris :cheers:

 

Unless he is thinking of a 396 high rpm motor I wouldn't bother with the AFR's. They can definitly make power, no question, but out of the box or AFR porting will not do it. It's basically an issue of buying AFR's bare as cast and adding in 1500-2000 in porting and assembly, or getting your stock heads worked for 2000.

And he has an LT4 correct? For the love of God stick with those heads! . The highest HP 396 strokers we have done/seen have actually been with fully worked LT4 heads. They will flow as well as a set of AFR 210's when fully worked (the LT4's), and with a much smaller port volume and more velocity (much better on a smaller motor). I bought new castings and switched to the LT4's - could have gone with AFR's for the same price pretty much, so I guess that's proof of my beliefs .

To answer your question though, AFR's can be set up for what he wants - just stay away from the as assembeled AFR stuff - their springs are junk, and the valves just okay. If you do get AFR's get as cast and port assemble them yourself/through someone who knows what they are doing. But honestly, stick with the LT4 castings !.

His LT4 bottom end will probably be okay with 7200 shift points - 4 bolt, better crank, etc. That's as high as I would go though, and that's still pushing it a bit. But if that's what he wants solid roller is definitly the answer. If he gives us (or you do) an email with the specifics (emissions, idle, etc.) and whatever heads he is going with and how he finalizes them (if he really wants AFR's I can get you a quote on a worked set of AFR's outright) then I can get you a ocuple of cam alternatives and a package price!

Good luck,

 

With the stock cam being a hydraulic roller a solid really doesn't take alot of effort. You can have a solid ground on the same core that they use for the hydraulic rollers. Solid lifters for Bowtie blocks are drop in. I have used Crane PN 11522 in several setups painlessly.
For a well behaved street setup on a stock block the first solid cam that comes to mind is the Comp Cams 236°/244° 112° lsa cam. With 1.6 rockers you will have 0.5856 lift and be able to run to 7000 RPM with reasonably low spring pressure. Reliability and durability should remain very good for a daily driver setup.
I would definately go with 7/16" studs as suggested above. If you are going with a head swap at the same time, the correct springs shouldn't be a problem. A set of K-Motion K800's setup with about 185lbs of seat pressure should work well and only set you back you back $90. Also with a diameter of 1.46" they will fit into AFR 195's pockets as they are.
You always try 1.7 rockers on the intake side as well, with the solid you won't have the lifter pumpup problems that you will with a hyd roller and this will get you up to .622 gross lift on the intake. This setup will give a great lobe area without that much duration. You will make more power and torque than a cc306 hyd roller, but maintain better street manners.

Also watch that you don't run your oil pan dry taking it to 7000 RPM. Bearings that would last for years will fry in fractions of a second without oil.

 

The stock ECM tables end at 7000 for spark advance and 6800 for Air/Fuel at WOT. I don't know if it will even be capable of running over 7000. I would go with aftermarket forged rods is your going to run that kind of rpm. Remind your dad that 283 had a shorter stroke so was able to handle the high rpm better.

Frankly, your LT4 is setup pretty well with the stock heads and LT4 hot cam. I think your dad would be better off putting the money into a larger motor. High rpm really takes its toll on an engine. He could trade up to a ZR1 which is designed to run at high rpm and has the intake system and heads to support the power. It doesn't take much to get a ZR1 to 475 HP.

 

I agree with an earlier post. I would keep the LT4 heads and have them ported by CNC Cylinder Heads, LPE, or More Performance(right in Charlotte). In fact, if I were you, I would contact them(Moreperformanceinc.com) directly and let them set you up. They can port and match your heads and intake together. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the AFR heads- have a set myself and love them, but I didn't have the luxury of having the LT4 heads to begin with. My AFR heads came with 7/16" studs and I believe that the LT4 heads do as well. However, if you(or your father) absolutely must have AFR heads, do not get the 210s unless you are going over 400 cubic inches. You will kill your velocity on a small cube motor. The AFR 190s work well from stock to 396ci. I bought mine from TPIS, which they get the 190 heads from AFR and cut their porting program into them. They are very nice. But, I would seriously reconsider about swapping out the LT4s- they are some of the best factory heads available and with a good cnc job they are very hard to beat. Sorry I can't be more helpful with the solid roller cam. I have been thinking about this myself, but I'm not sure that I really want the maintenance that goes along with it(adjusting the valves every 5000 miles). Good luck.

 

hey guys thanks a million for the tips and advice. i think there is a wealth of information flowing in here on this post, i know there is alot about the solid roller that i haven't seen before. keep them coming.

LT401, love your video clips!! very impressive car you have there! the post you wrote piqued my interest on a point i have been wondering about. going with the solid roller allows you to use a more aggressive cam as opposed to a hydraulic roller, and still retain decent streetability, did i get that right? very interesting... also how much trouble is the maintanance and upkeep on a solid roller, how often for adjusting valve lash and how much of a pain does it become removing the valve covers all the time, also is there a secret for the drivers side for those of you with a solid roller installed? just trying to really understand whats going to go along with it.

also, someone had posted that dad had a hot cam, i am the one installing the hot cam in my 95 LT1 with self ported and polished heads and intake, just to clarify so there is no confusion. and im almost done with her, should be this week!!!!!


thanks guys,
Chris :smash:

 

I would agree with most of the guys above that probably the best heads for his 350 would be to have More Performance CNC his LT4 castings. If he goes to a 396 eventually the he would probably want a larger port than a stock casting can provide spinning to 7000. Better rods would be nice also for 7000 RPM, I definatly would not want to take a stock rod to 7000 with a 3.75 stroke on a regular basis, but have seen many 3.48 stroke engines get away with it just fine for a long time. Seems like people end up spinning bearings more often, that is why I advise insuring adequet oil supply.

Maintenance has never been a big deal with the solid. The past two years I was using Crower 1.7 rockers on the intake and 1.6 rockers on the exhaust. I would check and adjust my rockers every 3000-4000 miles, but they were never out by much. This year I switched over to a set of Crower Stainless Shaft Rockers still 1.7/1.6 after 3000 miles I went to adjust them and the lash on every cyl was exactly where I left it.

 

lt401vette,
that is very inspiring to hear about the lash adjustment intervals!! what oiling mods would you recommend for a high rpm setup? larger oilpan? etc... thanks again!!!!


chris :smash: