Lt1valve adjustment

[hazbin]

rebuilding the 327 in my 67 4speed/sidepipe/336gear/coupe . want to go with a 1970 Lt1 solid lifter cam . dont think anything sounds better thru sidepipes .
but
everyone says they are a nightmare to hard to keep adjusted & think i should go hydrolic.

how often should i expect to have to adjust the solid lifters?i drive 2-3 k miles a year.
where is the best place to buy?brand?
is there a better solid cam?

if u talk me into a hydrolic cam ,please recommend one
thanks

 

[JohnZ]

The LT-1 cam is an excellent choice - it was the ultimate development of Chevy SB solid-lifter cams, and is utterly reliable with all stock GM valvetrain components, including stamped rockers and stock grocery-getter valve springs; a thoroughly-proven and bulletproof combination.

Your Chevy dealer has it as a complete kit with lifters under P/N 12364054 (made for GM Performance Parts by Crane), Crane has it as their #969551 (cam only), and Speed-Pro/Federal-Mogul has it (cam only) as their #CS-1145R.

Unlike most of the aftermarket solid cams that use excessively high-pressure springs and require constant attention (and failures, wiped lobes, broken springs, etc.), the LT-1 cam and its stock springs only need checking every 12,000 miles.

 

[hazbin]

JohnZ
thanks for the response .just what i wanted to hear

 

[wallyknoch]

rebuilding the 327 in my 67 4speed/sidepipe/336gear/coupe . want to go with a 1970 Lt1 solid lifter cam . dont think anything sounds better thru sidepipes .
but
everyone says they are a nightmare to hard to keep adjusted & think i should go hydrolic.

how often should i expect to have to adjust the solid lifters?i drive 2-3 k miles a year.
where is the best place to buy?brand?
is there a better solid cam?

if u talk me into a hydrolic cam ,please recommend one
thanks

The 1970 LT1 camshaft is probably the premier small block cam. Nothing wrong with a solid lifter engine, GM has made thousands of HP Vettes with them. A very cheap HP gain as both the solid and hydraulic cam costs nearly the same. Federal Mogul also produces the identical cam in kit form. Also, no nightmare. I have the same cam in my 62 and havn`t touched the valve train in years. Let those everybodys you were talking about envy you for having it when they dont.

 

[tomtom72]

Hi Hasbin, I had a 72 LT-1 and I used to check the lash adjustment at the begining of the summer as part of the get ready and found no need(3K miles @ summer use) to re-adjust the lash that soon. I will say that at the fourth summer get ready there was a need, but the motor still ran well even with a few thousandths out of spec. I did not beat on the car, or race it & don't know if that makes a difference. Even stop light grand prix, I shifted @ 6K rpm, very rarely any higher. I would think that with modern tech a hyd cam of similar grind would give same performance without needing to check lash. Sound through the side pipes would be same, but not the sound from the motor's valve train. I think the "solid" cam is a personal preference thing largely due to advances in tech on today's hyd cam kits. Only thing I did "wrong" with mine was to try a set of Sharp alum. roller rockers for two seasons. It was very un-nerving to have even a LT-1 rev freer than stock, the rpm's climbed too quickly for my tastes with the roller rockers. Also, they were more prone to need lash adjustment more frequently. JMHO, but a 298 high energy or extreme energy hyd cam kit(Comp. Cams) would do the same as an LT-1's mechanical cam. Tom

 

[Ol Blue]

hasbin
Not to start any cam wars here, but if you really like the solid lifter sound, you might consider the old 30/30 cam from the 65 Fuelies. They adjust at .030 which is very noisy, and the cam really comes in at 3000rpm. It feels similar to my son's ZR1 when the extra injectors take over. (Ok, ok son, not as fast... ) As best as I can remember on the 70 LT-1 cams was designed to give a little more torque on the bottom end than the 30/30 cam, but with the extra cubes in a 350, some magazines of the day said that the 30/30 cam would have been a better choice.

I think before choosing a cam you should determine the type of use for your car, the differential/transmission gearing, the compression, headers or not, etc. Any of the good cam manufacturers can give good advice on what meets your needs.
Ol Blue

 

[JohnZ]

I have lots of experience over many years with the "30-30" cam in its stock applications ('64-'65 Corvette L-76's and fuelies, '67-'69 Camaro Z/28's), and it's not a great choice for a street-driven cam; has next to no torque below 3500 rpm due to its extreme overlap. Screams over 4000 and has a classic idle, but in normal driving ranges, it's pretty poor; it needs lots of rear gear to bring it to life. The LT-1 provides about 20% more torque in normal driving range, and hardly gives up anything to the "30-30" at 6000-6500.

 

[hazbin]

john z
i agree about 3030. my first car was a 64 malibu ss 365hp 327.4speed 330something gears . went to 390 gears to make perform,was a real rocket . definately a car i wish i still owned as only a handfull were built.

definately going LT1 ,thanks for all the replies.