LT1 valve spring question

[Slowverado]

i'm about to start a heads cam swap on a buddy's 97 LT1....Paul at Thunder told me to go with dual springs for the cam i want to run. he also said there would be some machining involved....how much are we talking? does anyone have pics of before/after showing what has to be removed to make them work? thanks in advance.

[MEAN LT1]

I dont have any pictured but I do know what your talking about. I chose not have my heads pulled but rather have the retainers machined for the stock heads. Its not that hard, it may take maybee 20 minutes to do all of them.:)

[Saladbar]

Probably just the spring seats have to be cut.. How much lift is your buddy planning on running? Combination Motorsports makes a valvespring/retainer package good up to .600 lift.. More than enough for most LT1 cams.

[Whiteblownlt1]

i am using the comp 987 double springs and they required machining to the heads. i dont really know how much. my heads were done by lloyd elliot and he didnt really tell me how much work it took.

[Slowverado]

yeah, i hear lloyd isn't very verbal (or honest) about the heads he does. it's probably gonna get a 230/236 .520 112 cam, but added lift of 1.6 ratio comp rockers.

[Saladbar]

He'll be fine w/ some Crane 10308 valve springs.. They fit the stcok seats. Also, cmotorsports.com has a stock valve spring replacement that would work great too.

[Whiteblownlt1]

Originally posted by Slowverado
yeah, i hear lloyd isn't very verbal (or honest) about the heads he does. it's probably gonna get a 230/236 .520 112 cam, but added lift of 1.6 ratio comp rockers.

not trying to be an ass but what the hell does that mean. he is the most honest person ive ever dealt with i just never asked him. if i asked i am sure he would tell me.

[Slowverado]

i've just heard that he isn't the most honest about his flow numbers, and is kinda shaddy on that stuff.

[5.0THIS]

all you're talking about is a little machining of the spring perch, make the diameter a bit bigger, thats all. However, on LT1 style heads some care must be taken due to the perch's proximity to water jackets, ports and such, so that you dont machine down too far :)

[Slowverado]

hmmm, so it's not something you would attempt yourself? i figured it would be a small enough amount that i could do it with a file or dremel just using some care. what lift will the Crane 10308 valve springs hold?

[Whiteblownlt1]

Originally posted by Slowverado
i've just heard that he isn't the most honest about his flow numbers, and is kinda shaddy on that stuff.

lloyd is the most honest down to earth guy i know. and his flow numbers are not shaddy. hell i watched him flow heads and i have also seen his heads flowed on a different bench and the there wasnt even one full cfm difference. for the money his the best head porter around for us lt1 guys. so unless you personally have had a bad experience with lloyd then i really dont think you should have anything bad to say about him.

[Slowverado]

whiteblown, READ THE POST....i said i've HEARD BAD THINGS....seeing how this is my first venture into the LT1 motor (i've been strictly LS1 until now) i'm just gathering info and that's something i gathered along the way.

[Saladbar]

10308's - .600 lift . Could'a sworn I posted that before...

[Slowverado]

you said someone made one that held .600" and then later in a different post you gave the part number....thanks either way.

[Saladbar]

No prob... But again, there's the combination motorsport - EX-612-16 valvespring package which it too is good up to .600 lift.. And about $70 lighter on the wallet. )

[5.0THIS]

Originally posted by Slowverado
hmmm, so it's not something you would attempt yourself? i figured it would be a small enough amount that i could do it with a file or dremel just using some care. what lift will the Crane 10308 valve springs hold?

uhh, no, dont do this with the dremel. the spring perches need to be perfectly flat ;)