anyone every herd of people using the 1.9 rockers on an n/a monte? if it can be done, should i get that or a gt2 cam

 

No... And yes

 

Sure, people have run 1.9 rockers for years on NA and SC 3800s. There are basically 2 options- aftermarket, or modified stock. Bang for the buck really goes to the modded stockers. You're not going to pick up huge power, but I picked up my set of modded stockers used for like $100 years ago- so it's a fairly cheap upgrade.

A cam will always give more hp increase because you can change lift,duration, etc instead of just lift as with rockers. However, read up on cam installs- they're far from easy in these platforms. Not saying it's impossible, just that a rocker swap vs a cam install are two totally different ballparks as far as labor goes.

Another thing to consider if you're serious at all about a cam- keep in mind that L67 top swap prices are cheap nowadays and you're definitely in the ballpark for price and labor. A cam will sound cooler at idle, but the powerband will be shifted higher in the rpm range, which can make the car feel a little more sluggish around town down low. Also, an NA cam isn't really ideal if you ever added boost later. With a top swap, you would gain roughly the same power (probably even a little more) and would increase power across the entire band without affecting idle or drivability in any way. Plus, you'd drastically improve your future mod potential as far as bang for the buck mods go.

 

ive been talking about going boost every since i got my car two years ago, but im not really into making it really fast because if i wanted a fast car i would get a rwd v8 and turbo it. but heres my plan....
on black friday from zzp i want to get
coilovers for cheap hope they are around 1k instead of 1500
rockers or a cam
and a tune along with some gtp injectors and throttle body
down the road i want to get a top swap going on the monte maybe early next year or something. so i think im just going to get 1.9 rockers and use them on the sc heads if and when i do a top swap...

 

i suggest rockers over a cam unless you are planning to get into a pretty big build.

everything bumpin said is exactly true.

 

I think you're way better off with rockers if that's the case. Honestly, if the top swap is as close as you're thinking - a NA cam doesn't make much sense at this point.

If you are really considering a cam and a top swap both, you could always buy an SC cam and just hold onto it until you do the top swap. Sure, it's still going to be a pain to install, but you'll have most of the engine torn apart anyways for a top swap as it is.

As far as a tune / gtp injectors / gtp TB - I wouldn't bother with any of that if a top swap is as close as you say. Wouldn't hurt to buy L67 TB/injectors just to hold them until the swap- but you certainly won't need the bigger injectors on just a rockered L36, and IMO the L67 TB isn't worth the install hassle for just a few months.

Same goes for a tune, regardless if you tune it yourself or pay someone to do it, it's all going to be completely lost when you do the top swap and you'll have to start from scratch.

I guess it all depends how serious you are about doing a top swap.