Mild Cam Necessities

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Jun 17, 2024 | 12:33 PM

Vogelj2

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Mild Cam Necessities

So I have an unopened engine L98 '86 with a blown head gasket and a timing cover leak, so since I'm taking my heads and most of the front of the engine off, what is a nice conservative "stage one" cam setup/what do I need? Don't wanna do too crazy because it is 100k miles; wanna do as few supporting mods as possible because I am on a budget, and I also semi-daily this car.

Current 'power' mods:

22lbs injectors (stock but new)
Fuel pump (stock but new)
Magnaflow catback, main cat delete, Magnaflow high flow cats
KN filter

What I want to do:

Mild cam (so I do not need new/break bottom end stuff or rear end stuff)
Smog delete (while I'm in there)
Other top-end supporting mods are needed for a small cam upgrade (Intake, lifters, rocker arms, and throttle body?).
Shorties or long tube headers?
Obviously, replace all gaskets along the way
New timing chain

So my main question is, has anyone done this? What do I need to make more reliable power with stock heads and bottom end? Also, does anyone know all the necessities for a smog delete? (I'm gonna get aftermarket exhaust headers)
I will have my stock heads machined and leak-tested, so I know they're good.
What should I look out for?
With a mild cam setup, all I need to do is retime the engine when it is done to have it run right; correct?
Is there a kit for a mild cam upgrade?
Is there a full kit for a smog delete?

And for the life of me, I cannot understand why I didn't just take the spark plugs out and pour coolant in the radiator to test for a blown head gasket before putting it back together with just intake gaskets