Project: BLACK METAL - '67 Camaro

[67rally]

Finally 10 days after I ordered my replacement cam retainer plate, it arrived from gmpartsdirect.com. I don't think I'll use these guys again, I found a lot of bad reviews after ordering from them. Anyways, now I can start the cam swap.

Here's the cam retainer plate and bolts. The new plate has recessed bolts, so the old ones can't be re-used:




Comp Cams custom grind, 231/235 .617"/.621" on a 108 LSA. Should be lumpy.




New cam going in, I used the water pump mounting bolts as a handle:




With the retainer plate:




The 6.0 LQ engines don't have any bolt hole provisions for a timing belt tensioner, but the LS2 engines do. I wanted to use an LS2 damper, so I got an adapter bracket and damper from Trick Flow:




The kit requires you to knock out the metal oem load bushings and replace them with newly supplied bushings:




The LS2 damper was very tight going onto the bracket studs, so I used a block of wood and a rubber mallet to gently tap it into place. Just when I thought it seated, I heard a pop and a piece of plastic ricocheted off my leg:




I called Trick Flow and they said the tolerances were extremely tight and while they hadn't had any break, they didn't blame me. I called TEA where I got the damper from, and he's sending a new one out, to be here before the weekend:






Here's the Yank LS2 adjustable timing chain set. They modify a stock timing chain gear, by drilling out where the cam dowel goes and supply a number of inserts to adjust the timing. All the changes are made to the cam gear, and not the crank sprocket. This way if you need to advance or retard the cam, you don't have to remove the oil pump.




Close up of the inserts:




Here's the LS2 chain on the left next to the LS1/LQ9 chain on the right. The LQ9 chain was .433 thick vs the LS2's .464. It's a much stronger chain, without going to a double roller (added mass):




I degreed the cam, and it was within 1 degree of where it was supposed to be, so I'm happy with that: