Planning on putting a Cam in my '04 MN6 convertible real soon. Following is a quote I got from a local shop that will be doing the work.... does this sound about right $$$ wise for a cam install and related parts? Too much??? I live in central Florida.

Anything else I should be thinking about doing while they are in there?

Already have LT's (LG streets,) Black Wing, 160 degree thermostat, NGK's.


The Cam should yield an additional 30 - 40 rwhp ....sound about right?


Comp Cams LSx 224/230 114 XER camshaft. $395.00
1 CMP-7638-16 5/16 Magnum Pushrod 7.400 $132.99
1 PAT-8401 Patriot Gold Dual Valve Spring Kit $255.99
1 Part Gasket, seals, crank bolt, LOF $200.00
12 Labor Installation of Cam, pushrods, valve springs 94.00/hr $1,128.00

LS1DynoTune Full LS1 chassis dyno tune with A/F readings (Std price $495; Discounted for re-tune after mods) $350.00
Shipping and Handling Charges $75.00
Tax $172.34

Total $2,709.32

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

12 hours for a cam swap? Yikes.....

 

Planning on putting a Cam in my '04 MN6 convertible real soon. Following is a quote I got from a local shop that will be doing the work.... does this sound about right $$$ wise for a cam install and related parts? Too much??? I live in central Florida.

Anything else I should be thinking about doing while they are in there?

Already have LT's (LG streets,) Black Wing, 160 degree thermostat, NGK's.


The Cam should yield an additional 30 - 40 rwhp ....sound about right?


Comp Cams LSx 224/230 114 XER camshaft. $395.00
1 CMP-7638-16 5/16 Magnum Pushrod 7.400 $132.99
1 PAT-8401 Patriot Gold Dual Valve Spring Kit $255.99
1 Part Gasket, seals, crank bolt, LOF $200.00
12 Labor Installation of Cam, pushrods, valve springs 94.00/hr $1,128.00

LS1DynoTune Full LS1 chassis dyno tune with A/F readings (Std price $495; Discounted for re-tune after mods) $350.00
Shipping and Handling Charges $75.00
Tax $172.34

Total $2,709.32

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

How many miles are on the car?
Think about a new oil pump and upgraded timing chain.

I've never had a shop do work for me, so I'm not too sure about labor.. might be a tad high at $1,128..

 

Only about 25k on the speedometer

 

It took me around 5-6 hours to do my cam swap. Thats with me losing the valve spring retainer locks......

Check out Texas-Speed. Their cam kits are really good. They have a few cams that are very close to the specs of the one you want.
http://texas-speed.com/shop/category...MID=3&catid=49

 

The 12 hour labor part seems like a lot to me too.

I've never done a cam before, I'm not an expert mechanic and a friend and I did a cam swap on my car in about 8 hours with beer/pizza breaks included. We didn't hurry at all. How much time does the spring installation take ?

I didn't see lifters in your parts list. Are you replacing them ?

 

Wasn't planning on doing the lifters....is that something I should be looking into?

 

no, you have to take the heads off to replace those.

save yourself some money and do it yourself
this will help u skip the part about the heads http://ls1howto.com/index.php?article=1

all you need is-
cam
pushrods
spring kit
crank bolt/gaskets
ls2 timing chain
fluids
your oil pump will be fine, you could have it shimmed/ported but dont have too.

 

With 25k on the clock you don't need to do the lifters, besides you would have to pull the heads and at that point you might as well change those too.

Seems pricey for a cam swap, getting a friend, some pizza and beer sounds like a good idea. Save the money for other mods

 

I agree that on a car with low miles like yours you can use the lifters that are in it.

Not pulling the heads cuts a lot of time off the job. The labor estimate on a C5 cam swap at a reputable shop here was just under 900. That estimate included installing new lifters which meant pulling heads, exhaust, etc ... and I think their quote showed it as being 10 hours.

 

PAC valve springs
http://www.racingsprings.com/beehivesprings.asp
I would look at these valve springs, I run doubles for a little while and didn't like the sound when the engine was dropping rpm at 5000 and below
Just seem a little rough
These beehives and Ti retainers really made different in my H/C build
Check with other vette owners in your area and see what the going rate is and check out the shop reputation
Prices seems just a little high on labor
Just my 2 cents

Bobby

 

$2700 looks about inline with "regular price" for most of the cam installers, not cheap, not outrageous.

You should be getting a high flow oil pump and new LS2 timing chain with it though. Probably an UD Crank pulley too...

There are installers running specials right now though...

 

Seems about right for central florida $ wise. Definitely replace the timing chain. They're only $40 and there will be no addl. labor.

 

I wish you lived closer to North Alabama. I would do the cam swap and tune for about ½ of their cam swap quote. But go for it as long as you are comfortable with their reputation and don't mind paying for it. You will love the performance gain that a bigger cam will give your LS1.

 

I don't understand the items I highlighted above.
Gasket, seals, crank bolt..........$200?........gtfo
technically you can re-use the gaskets, and the crank bolt is about $5. Even if you replaced the timing case gasket, front seal, water pump gaskets, and crank bolt, surely it would be under $70.
$94 an hour for labor is outrageous. This isn't brain surgery, it's a cam/valve spring/pushrod swap.
As someone above suggested, find some knowledgable local shadetree Corvette guys to help you out. We do these all the time in Pittsburgh for the GTO guys. Compared to $2700, a case of beer and a few pizzas is dirt cheap.

 

about right for a shop...hell ive seen them here for prices way higher. complete rape, but places need to stay open. i think 12 hours is a pretty good time. i bet 95% of the members here couldnt do one in 12 hours. When I do one, usually takes me a day or 2, or about 16 hours. but i take my time, replace everything and triple check everything. plus your cost is a good 4 hours of dyno time. But as another member said, I would without a doubt do a ported ls6 oil pump and ls2 timing chain. also, go for a ARP crank bolt. stock ones suck and are junk after the first use.

 

Wish I lived closer also...I'd be there in a heart beat!!

 

reminds me of an old joke..........about a plumber who used to be a doctor...

 

robbery....

I just did my cam swap myself last week. Might have taken me 7 hours total, and that was at a leisurely "I'm not getting paid for this" pace. And I'm not a professional shop...

One extra part you might want to consider is an underdrive pulley. Crank pulley has to come off for the job anyway and the stockers are prone to seperation. So you can justify it as preventative maintenance