While I was in Atlanta this past weekend, the friend whom I was staying with noted that he still had some parts from back in the day when he had an 02 Camaro Z28 that were never installed.  The parts consisted of:

• GMPP “HOT” Cam – 218/227 @.050 .525/.525 112LSA
• 2x Valve cover gaskets
• 2x Water pump gaskets
• 16x LS “Blue” valve springs
• 16x Valve spring locks
• 16x LS6 valve spring seats
• New crank bolt
• Crank seal
• Timing cover gasket

While neither of us really knew the value of cam technology over a decade old, I made a blind suggestion of $125 and he agreed to it.  While there have been great strides made in cam lobe technology since the days when this or the ASA was king for LS1 engines, you can’t beat the value of what I paid for the gains in HP.  Not to mention that low LSA will give it a nasty lope on idle.  Other great things about this cam is that it has such a low lift that stock LS6 springs work great for long valve train life, the stock push rods don’t have to be replaced and the stock torque converter can stay in place.

There are still several things I will need to pick up before I can make the swap though and unfortunately they will cost about 4 times what I paid for the parts I have.

• Comp Cams LSx Valve Spring Compressor Tool
• Kent-Moore Flywheel Locking Tool
• Valve Stem Seals for both intake and exhaust
• Valve Spring Retainers
• LS2 timing chain
• Ported LS6 Oil Pump
• Cylinder Leak-Down testing kit
• 3 Arm Pulley Puller

A third of that cost will be the new oil pump which I could probably get away with not replacing but since I will be in there replacing the chain already, I might as well upgrade that at the same time.  Can’t wait to gather it all up and start the work.

Scratched off a couple of the more minor items that needed to be fixed from the mile long list of issues the bird has.  Had been wanting to attend to these for a while now but made them more of a priority in order to make a trip to Atlanta to visit some friends this past weekend.

The first was a split upper radiator hose that I noticed some time back.  At the time it wasn’t an issue as there wasn’t a leak present but it finally broke through the inner wall of the hose and began spraying coolant all over the engine bay.  No auto part place in town carried them and wanted in the neighborhood of $40 or so to order one.  So instead I picked up a generic hose with the approximate bend angle and cut it down to size.  Now back in running condition with no more leaks.

Next was an issue with the side mirror that has been bugging me since the day I bought the car last fall.  The driver’s side mirror had a good deal of excess give and vibrated badly when driving around making it difficult to use.  Pulled it off and this is what I found.

Well there’s your problem!  The mounting bracket had snapped clean in two.  Being the kludger that I am, replacement wasn’t even part of the equation.  So I pulled it apart, cleaned it up a bit and began my repair.  First I filed the edges of the break a bit to roughen up the surface for better adhesion and used a 5 Minute epoxy to get the pieces back together.  I then slathered on a thick bead of JB Weld around the break and let it set over night.  The end result looked promising.

So far it has survived 6 days and an 800 mile drive to Atlanta and back with no signs of it failing.  I’d say kludge successful  Unfortunately on my way to Atlanta an issue popped up with the car that is causing it to pull to the right a good more than I am comfortable with and some vibration in the steering.  I’ll have to bring it by a shop soon to have balance and alignment checked since I don’t have the equipment to do that myself.  If it isn’t once thing it’s always another.