in the upcoming months i am going to do a l67 swap in my 98z34...i am going completely through this engine and have some pretty good mods setup and am hoping to get around 300-350whp out of it when it's said and done...i've been working on small blocks all my life and kinda new to the 3800...my question is should i go with a cam, or some 1.9 rockers...if i go rockers instead of a cam, i will be saving myself a ton of money...any help guys?

 

I would go rockers. Theyll give a boost in power plus retain driveability. Another thing about cam swaps is they tend to require deleting the balance shaft, seems counter productive. Good luck

 

Oh and if you kno ur way around an sbc 3.8s are easy to figure out

 

thank you l67ss, i was thinking the same thing...it is pretty easy figuring it out comparing to a sbc...i'm just trying to get everything in my mind figured out so i can trade the money from an $800 cam setup to $300 for rockers and spend the difference elsewhere if i am going to get the same hp...i do know that a cam give me a longer duration, where going with the rockers all i am basically changing is the overall lift...

 

Never liked the idea of removing the balance shaft. I think of 4.3s. In 1991 a 4.3 made 160 hp. In 1993 with same heads cam compression induction and only difference being they added a balance shaft, 195 hp. So ill keep my balance shaft.
Btw im also a v8 chevy knuckledragger building an sc3.8 5th gen monte

 

$500 eould come close to buying a set of ported series 3 heads

 

And now im planning on 1.9 rockers for my l36 swap

 

i think that's the direction i am going to do as well when i do my swap...with the money i can save from purchasing a cam, i can add the zzp short stack intercooler or headers and add more power

 

Short stack IC? BOOOOO. lol

Just kidding. It's your car, do with it as you please. I'd go with a cam - but here I am with a stock cam and stock rockers on my car...

Keep in mind though, if you do headers, you're gonna have to cut/beat the snot out of your firewall to make them fit.

 

i take it you aren't a fan of the short stack? i know it's not the full sized ic, but with the other mods i am going with, i should be able to really add some good boost...i am going to add the 180 stat, ss ic, 1.9 rockers, oversized rad, colder plugs, possible headers or plog and thinking about a tb spacer...with these mods, i should really be able to add some boost while keeping KR down to low to nothing...i am adding the 1" shorter dog bones, since my car is lowered, should allow me a little more clearance for headers hopefully with minimal amount of modding for fit