Hi, I have a 1994 corvette base model and I was going to buy the top-end kit for my car but need a couple of pointers for installing the cam.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfs-k304-430-400

I have a pretty good understanding of how to do the heads but the cam is what is stumping me. You read that you could take out one of the motor mounts and jack up the engine a couple of inches, but that also requires me to take out the radiator, which isn't a problem, I just replaced it. But another thing I noticed was the ac lines are also in the way too and that seems like that could be a problem. I also know that you can just take the whole block out of the car to change the cam is a possibility but I have a funny feeling that doing that is going to take a long time compared to the other way. I want to do this job the easiest and quickest way, so if any of you guys have any idea of how I could do this without it turning into an absolute nightmare, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Phil

 

If you're referring to needing to lift the engine for the balancer, it doesn't need to be. I pulled the balancer on my car using a 2 jaw puller to get the balancer off the hub after removing the 3 5/8s bolts. Then loosened the PS hard line that goes into the top of the steering rack. Then used the old type puller that looks like the attari symbol, 3 holes on one side, one on the other. I got 3 2 1/2" bolts that are the same pitch and thread as the ones that hold the balancer onto the hub to use in the puller. I also had to use a 3" or so long really skinny bolt to go inside of the crank hub bolt hole to give the puller something to press against and not mess up the threads or prevent the hub from coming off. To install my old school slide hammer pulley came with a shaft that is the same thread as the crank bolt. I used a couple of nuts and large washers to make a press using the all thread. If you don't have that pulley shaft, all thread will work if you can find the threads.
Once the balancer is off the timing chain cover requires you to drop the oil pan first, or at least the bolts. To get the cam out you should have enough clearance, but maybe the radiator needs to come out. I haven't done the cam, but did the timing chain on mine and was able to leave the engine bolted in place.

 

no I'm not talking about taking out the balancer, even though now that you mention it, I'll have to do that, I'm referring to taking the cam out itself. When I was looking at my car, I could see a metal brace right in front, like I don't know, 3 or so inches and I'm not sure if the cam is able to be pulled out with that in the way. That's why I mentioned lifting up the engine the two inches or so to pull out the cam.

 

All of that is below the cam. I just did the timing chain on my 92 and I could have easily pulled the cam out at that point. I'm actually kicking myself for not reading the marks to see if it was the stock cam or upgraded. My car has 185k on it and has had a lot of people messing with things. The only thing that I wouldn't be sure of is if the top of the radiator is in the way. Lots of people do cam swaps and it is not a problem, except for the balancer like I mentioned.

 

I am not certain if it is year specific but I have read that you will likely have to loosen the engine mounts and lift the motor up to get the cam out. The cam hits that front boxy crossmember and you can't pull it all the way out. You can also loosen the c-beam and drop the rear of the trans to gain clearance too.

The ac lines can usually flex so you can flop or move the condenser around when needed. No need to discharge it if you are careful.

I did a cam upgrade in my LS swapped 84 several months ago. Luckily for me the cam sits higher in an LS block so I didn't have to manipulate the block position to get the old cam out.

 

cam clears everything with room to spare in a small block 84 as well. Not sure on later years.

 

Ok, thank you all for the help, so if it doesn't clear, I just want to loosen the bolts holding in the engine and also the transmission and it should be good right? Also, is there a way you guys can send me a link to the balancer puller because I just want to make sure I get the right one for the job and I don't screw it up? Also, last question, how will I put the balancer back on with the limited room or will it just slip on with no problem because I don't want that to turn into another problem too? Thank you all once again!!!

 

Here's a link for the type of puller I used. I would not recommend using this one from harbor freight though. All their tools for pulling and pressing warp under the slightest strain. I would look on craigslist and buy an old made in the USA one where they used hardened steel.
https://www.harborfreight.com/bolt-t...et-62620.html?
Don't hammer or bang on the balancer or hub. You'll ruin the crank and rod bearings. To get the hub back on the crank is pretty easy. Follow the FSM for orientation. It is critical to get it right to know how to set your valves. I don't think it actually makes a difference for timing as the opti spark uses a different shaft and only installs one way. There are different methods to adjust valves, so maybe the orientation doesn't matter. I still set mine right. You need all thread the same as the main crank bolt. It's hard to find and I lucked out that my slide hammer puller had it as part of that set. Screw the all thread into the crank bolt hole. Slide the hub over it. Gently tap it with your hand to get it set as even as you can. Then slide a washer over it. Then a nut and screw it all the way down. Tighten that nut slowly and make sure the hub presses on straight. To remove the all thread you'll need to use 2 nuts to lock together to back it off. You need to wedge a screw driver between the balancer hub and block to prevent the crank from spinning. An automatic trans may keep the engine from spinning. My clutch didn't so I didn't want to slip that. I was able to use the 3 bolts that hold the balancer to the hub to press that back on. I replaced my balancer as the rubber ring was rotted and missing chunks.
The top half of the balancer is above the frame cross member and is the only part that is difficult to get to. The cam is a good 6" above that and no where near the cross member. Of course the water pump, belts, steering pulley, idler pulley, opti spark etc all have to come off. The AC pump and lines are not in the way at all. The alternator has to come off though.

 

Here you go. This one is for an 1996 LT4 but the process is exactly the same. You are fortunate that there is a very astute IT person who owns a C4 as I fetched this from the Wayback machine for you. This is an article from 2008 which later disappeared from the web,

https://web.archive.org/web/20080212...ps/hot_cam.htm

 

I'm going to play devils advocate here. Is the car an auto or a manual? The reason I ask is the cam in that kit is a healthy street cam for an LT1. If your car is an auto you really should put in a new converter with that kit. So if that's the case just pull the motor. Do your top end rebuild with the kit on an engine stand and swap the converter while the motor is out.

But just being honest and speaking from some experience, if the car is an auto you don't want to street drive it with that Summit kit on a stock converter. You need more stall. I would call FTI or Circle D and see what they have to say. A nice non-billet converter with a 2600-2800 stall will run about $700 and be worth every penny.

But if the car is a manual then please disregard my ramblings

 

Yeah, it's an automatic, I saw a video of someone putting this kit on their car and they said that they didn't need a new converter but, your right, I better make sure because that would be very annoying for me to have to take out the engine after putting it all back together.

 

Yeah I'm not saying you can't drive the car with a stock converter and that cam. But you probably don't want to. A good converter that matches that cam will make the car much faster and give it great street manors. The nice thing is a nice single disk converter with a factory housing would work for you if your not drag racing. I would avoid TCI or B&M. But there are LOTS of great companies out there that will build a converter for your set up. I HIGHLY recommend FTI. They are (in my opinion) the best option. I paid $950 for a billet 9.5" 3600 rpm converter that was purpose built for my car. In that price I get one free re-stall. So they will change the stall speed for me once. They even cover shipping.

For your car you could go way less. $600-700 would give you a very nice street converter that would be matched to your car and your driving style.

 

Alright thanks, ill go check them out, my only problem with changing the converter is being able to do that along with everything else in a timely manner because I have to do all of this stuff (cam, heads, lifters, pushrods, rockers, etc) in like 5 days and put it back together and honestly, I've never done this before. The mechanic I went to quoted me 9K to do all of this stuff and that kinda got me pissed off because I know that I can do all of this stuff, so I figured that this was the time to learn how to actually do this so I want to thank all of you guys for the immense help you all have given me and the very knowledgeable information I have gained from talking with you. Without you guys, I'm positive, I wouldn't be able to do this, let alone even try to mess with the cam, so thanks once again.

 

For your first go around at this you need more than 5 days. I build a lot of engines and transmissions for fun but I wouldn't try and do this in 5 days. It's not that it can't be done. It's that giving yourself that short of a time frame is going to cause oversights and missed steps. Something else to consider is tuning. How are you going to tune the car? You can't just install a cam like that and have it run correctly. Are you using an aftermarket ECU or are you tuning the factory ECU? Either way that by itself will take longer then 5 days. Hell I'm 2 months into tuning my latest 6.0L LS that's in my 84 now. I just got the flex fuel base tune done and I'm still making changes.

 

It took me over 2 weeks to do the timing chain, intake gaskets, oil pan gaskets, knock sensors, zf fluid change, new lifters and a bunch of other gaskets. The hold up is every time I found another part or gasket I needed it takes 2 days minimum to get it. I decided after I started I was going to replace the lifters. Autozone lists Made in USA Melling lifters on their site. When they ordered them and they came only 5 or so of the 16 were made in the USA Mellings. The other 11 were made in China. I had them order another set from a different supplier. 9 of the 11 came back as Made in USA and 2 in China. I ended up having to go to O'reily's and pay more for Made in USA for the other 2. So, there's that.
As for tuning, I bought a laptop, bought all the hardware from Moates and am probably 2 months into having all the hardware. So far I have gotten to data logging. I've been too busy to do all the research to figure out the burning the chip and writing the program part.

 

I have a tuner that lives like 3 miles from my house and can tune the car, I figured that after I put everything back together, I can just take it to him and have him do his magic. My brother who knows a lot about these cars told me not to mess with the ECU so it's completely stock too.

 

My 84 cam also cleared with no problems !

 

I have to say I'm surprised. I'm sure I've read multiple threads where the butt-end of the trans needed to be dropped for clearance. After planting a new engine 12yrs ago, I've considered a bigger cam. However, I haven't been excited about doing it IN the car....or pulling the motor again. This is encouraging. (Mine is an 89).

I don't have a problem moving the A/C or condenser. I'm sure the crank balancer and pulley will be loads of fun -- in that cramped space.

Sounds like the OP won't have that bad a time! Good luck!!!

 

Back in 2000 I tried to put a roller cam in my 84. The factory cam came out with the engine in place. But that's when I made the mistake of looking at my cam bearings. So that meant they were bad. So I pulled the motor and did a rebuild. The bad part is I put that motor back in with the factory converter. This experience is what led me to the mentality of if you change the cam you need more stall speed. Unless you're just doing a real mild cam. The Comp Cams roller I put in was a 218 duration with a .550 lift. With factory stall it was a waste of time. The converter will make the car feel faster then the cam will. But both together work magic!

 

Appreciate the thought...but I have a ZF6! The cam would be in conjunction with an intake swap (to an HSR).