View Poll Results: Who had done cam and or heads swap on their own?
Swapped cam on their own
28
36.36%
Swapped heads and cam on their own
29
37.66%
Paid a shop to do it for them
20
25.97%
Voters: 77. You may not vote on this poll
Cam Swap poll
Cam Swap poll Just curious of how many of you guys have done cam and heads swap on your own in your garage at home and how many have paid someone else to do it for them?
TECH Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 406
Likes: 0
From: Maryland
not on this car now but on others ive done it my self and i will be doing it on this one very soon i like to do all my own work its the best part, i would only pay a shop to do a tune and thats about it.
I did my cam swap myself this past winter...I wasen't going to and was going to have a shop do it but decided to give it a shot.
BELIEVE ME IF I CAN DO IT ANYONE CAN DO IT. Honestly the most I've ever really done before this was oil changes and very basic stuff. I hardly have any tools and any room, but I got it done and its really not that bad. Anytime I needed a tool I ran to Advanced Auto or w/e parts store and those tools got it done. I did however have to buy the valvespring tool from Thunder Racing because the Advanced Auto one didn't even come close to working good.
If anyone is planning on doing it, just follow the LS1howto guide, its very helpful, I coulden't have done it without it.
BELIEVE ME IF I CAN DO IT ANYONE CAN DO IT. Honestly the most I've ever really done before this was oil changes and very basic stuff. I hardly have any tools and any room, but I got it done and its really not that bad. Anytime I needed a tool I ran to Advanced Auto or w/e parts store and those tools got it done. I did however have to buy the valvespring tool from Thunder Racing because the Advanced Auto one didn't even come close to working good.
If anyone is planning on doing it, just follow the LS1howto guide, its very helpful, I coulden't have done it without it.
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
From: Appomattox, VA
I think I have the know-how to do it myself...but I lack the garage.
What did you guys pay in labor? (if you don't mind saying, that is.)
I would almost worry about this being a hijack attempt, but I'd BET the OP could use this info as well.
What did you guys pay in labor? (if you don't mind saying, that is.)
I would almost worry about this being a hijack attempt, but I'd BET the OP could use this info as well.
Your better off doing it yourself, I know my shop would charge 8-12 hours at $75.00 an hour... You do the math...
But i also work at a dealership, Im sure a performance shop or private owner shop would be a lot cheaper....
And there is no feeling like knowing that you did it yourself!!!
But i also work at a dealership, Im sure a performance shop or private owner shop would be a lot cheaper....
And there is no feeling like knowing that you did it yourself!!!
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Did my H/C/I swap with a couple of buddies. As long as you take your time and do things right you'll be okay. Only thing I can say that if it's your DAILY DRIVER, DO NOT try to do a H/C swap over the weekend and get your **** up and running by Monday so you can go to work/school/whatever. You're asking for the car to 
you the entire weekend project and ultimately you'll be 10 toe shuffling to where you have to go.
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im a week or so away from doing a head/cam/intake/header install on my camaro. i have a diy site that takes you step by step with pics so it helps. but i went to school for this stuff and ive built the old school sbcs and transmissions. so i kinda know what im doing lol
i did it in my garage, it was pretty much my first time working on the motor or any at that, i had a couple friends come by. it took probably the morning to late at night, and the next day got some things hooked up and had it running. its really not bad at all, just takes a little patience at times, and just take your time so you wont have problems.
My cam install honestly took a good month. Car went away for 3 months over winter from Dec-Mar...started working on it the beginning of January with a friend who has done jobs like this before. He then never really wanted to work on it again and finally ditched me the beginning of Febuary. I debated getting it done or trying it myself, which obviously I chose the latter. Started working on it around mid Feb and did it little by little and worked until either I needed more parts or tools. I always had to either order some more parts I missed or just forgot to buy and wait for it to come in, plus had to work on it around school and work. The days I had off I worked on it as much as I could and finally got it done the beginning of March. Feels really good to do it yourself, especially for someone who has never done anything to this magnitude on a car. Only thing I didn't do was put the LS2 timing chain on, another good friend put it on for me as I was working on the valvesprings and putting everything back together.
Do it yourself! Money is hard to come by and i would rather spend it on more parts then paying someone to do what i am capable of. If you have questions post them up and get the answers i have been doing that alot, and im getting ready to do a cam and stall. It makes you feel more accomplished when you can say I did it myself.
i'm going to do my cam myself. I've never done it but it helps haveing friends that are tech's at the local GM dealership to help out. I would never pay someone to do that. I'd rather get some help, read up on it and give it a shot. It would be a learning experience while saving money at the same time.
If I ever do one, I would like to do it myself. I understand if you pay someone you have some piece of mind, but for me doing it is enjoyable. Only problem is when I touch cars they explode.
Took me about 12 hours to do my cam. Had my brother help me with the springs. The springs are just a pain with the engine being so far back. Thats a 2 person job. Besides that it's not hard.
Last edited by JimsWS6; Apr 5, 2009 at 11:41 PM.
