Shew, that's one heck of a job for jack stands and a parking lot ;). Being my first time ever doing anything like this I feel it went pretty smoothly despite the two snags I encountered, removing the steering rack and the crank pulley. That steering rack is one **** of a unit to remove. I must personally thank Andy@AAcorvettes and 9D9LS1 for all of their help and tips on removing the steering rack. I also must personally thank torquecentral.com, 66ImpalaLT1 and jMx for all the help they have been in guiding the cam install process. Also, I thank my brother, 2000_ws6 and Go FasTA (fellow C5 owner/member/friend) for their help with the install. I couldn't have done it w/out them :cheers:

Now, we put in:
ASP Pulley
ARE Blueprinted/Ported Oil Pump
Katech (JWIS) Timing Chain
TR 224.2/224.3 .563/.563 111.9 (Thanks to the Cam Doctor)
Comp Cam 918 Springs :yesnod:
Comp Cam Titanium Retainers
Crane Cam Chromemoly Pushrods

Now, how does it sound/drive/run?

Well, I must say I was a little leary about firing her up the first time to do the first heat cycle. It fired right up and found its idle and loped like a ****. It sounds sooooooooo nice. It's tame yet mean (no cats on the car ;)). If I had the cats on you'd barely notice it. Inside the car very little shake which will be alleviated after I bump up the idle to around 825 and get my TB hole correct. Also, my new oil pump bumped my idle oil pressure to 41 PSI :eek: from 21 PSI with the stock oil pump! After the second heat cycle for the springs I hopped in and took it for a run....

It PULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSS beyond comprehension. I haven't even loaded the LS1Edit file to raise the rev limiter to 6700. I can't wait to spin it up that high ;). This cam flat out rocks. It's so sweet to sit at a light with your ride going, "lumpity lump lump". Very intimidating to others :D It's running pig rich ( I can smell the gas) so now I'm going into hardcore LS1Edit tuning ;) then off to the wideband O2 to get the AFR correct and then it's dyno time :D :D :D

Here's just a sample of how sweet she sounds: http://home.insightbb.com/~ominousvette/camlope.mpg

If anyone has some webspace let me know so I can post some more vids ;) and lots of pics I took during the install. Thanks to Paul and the rest of Thunder Racing for hooking me up with a sweet cam. They're a tuner that has definately done their homework on the camshaft selection for LS1 cars!

First, TR 224 powered C5 :yesnod:


[Modified by C5Noir, 12:40 AM 6/17/2002]

 

I've got web space you can use. Just let me know and I'll get the stuff up there for you.

 

Congrats! My motors apart and I guess I'm behind you, but not for long!! :cheers:

 

:cheers:
Congrats, self satisfaction has been accomplshed!

 

Congrats :cheers:

 

:cheers: :cheers:

 

Man Levi, that mpg kicks bootie! Congrats on what I'm sure was a challenging, yet rewarding, job! You guys are to be commended!

 

Sounds great! .......I know how your feelin' ...it just gets better! :yesnod:

 

Congrats! Excellent choice! :cheers:

Um... Don't think so. :nonod:

 

Sounds bad aSSSSSS!!

 

:cheers: Love the sound :yesnod:

 

Congratulations!

How long did it take? Did you need any special tools? Crank puller I suppose, but I don't know what else. Is there a good online cam install document somewhere? I've seen one for f-bodies, but not for C5s.

What part of the install requires more than one person? No one I know is into cars, and it's too late to ask my parents for a brother. :eek:

That's *exactly* what I want to put in my car. I cheaped out on the headers (ordering RK Sport for $699, instead of FLP), but other than that, you've got the car I want. :)

Are you going to dyno any time soon?

 

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

Welcome to the "Thunder Cam Corvette Club" - can't wait to see the dyno!

 

How long did it take? Did you need any special tools? Crank puller I suppose, but I don't know what else. Is there a good online cam install document somewhere? I've seen one for f-bodies, but not for C5s.

It took two days, almost 14 hours. You will need a crank puller (will get you the model # when I get hom) and a valve spring compressor (will get you that model # too...). Other than that you need a various assortment of sockets, ratchets, etc. Also you'll need to rent a 250 ft-lb torque wrench from Autozone to seat the crank pulley all the way. I used http://www.torquecentral.com for the cam install (the cars are identical after you remove the power steering rack).


What part of the install requires more than one person? No one I know is into cars, and it's too late to ask my parents for a brother.

Really it can all be done by yourself. It just helps to have others around to help speed it up. 66Impala_LT1 put his cam, etc in all by himself. Check out http://www.ls1tech.com and go to the Corvette Performance section and check out his post about his cam install. It's very informative.

Are you going to dyno any time soon?
Yes, I plan on going after I get my part throttle LTRIM's set so that I can then go and tune it WOT (PE vs RPM) on the dyno ;)

Oliver, thanks for the welcoming! BTW, what is your idle currently set at? Thanks.

 

My idle is set at the stock idle (725-750 or so) - I never had to drill out the TB or do any tuning with the cam..........

 

How hard was it to change the valve springs while the heads were still on the car? Anything special you need to do?

 

Awesome job man!! It is a good feeling isnt it when you organize a big mod project, do the whole install yourself, and then things work out awesome. The power feels all that much better when you took part in the install and part selections.

I am sure in no time you will have LS1edit all figured out and your car tuned perfectly! Just make sure to get your LTRIMS slightly in the negative, then work on your WOT a/f on a dyno with a wide band.

:cheers: :cheers:

 

:cheers:

 

Congrats man, sounds like you have made an excellent selection in that bad **** C5 of yours!. Must be nice to be able to do major mods yourself! :cheers:

You should be pulling some great power with your set up after getting your fine tuning done.

Good luck and be safe!

Nitrovette :cheers: