How difficult is a cam swap?

ddart cart said

I will look for long tubes. I thought the Dakota headers may fit since they were short.
I’m surprised the 360 can pull that hard without a cam increase. Sounds like I can maybe skip the cam swap, and still be impressed.
While the engine is on a stand, should I advance the cam, look for thin head gaskets, and clean up any chunks or lips in the heads? With care, I know there can be nice gains from port and polish work, but I never did that either.

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i'd call up oregon cams and talk to ken. ask his advice and let him regrind your cam (or get a reground and send yours as a core). you'll need new push rods, but can run your lifters again-- just clean and inspect them.

cometic makes a gaskets that's .027 compressed, or just grab some felpros that are in the 30's

get the hughes spring & retainer/lock kit (PN 1199), throw a good true double roller timing chain at it, a melling HV pump, and top it with a dual plane and a 650. done.

if you're feeling saucy, pocket port the heads.

if you want to run the LA style timing cover with a mechanical pump, hughes sells the cam snout extender dongle thing to do so.

get a hot curve in the distributor

doug's or TTI headers if you're bucks up, summit cheapies if you're not.

bang. done.