You dont need to pull the heads.Ive nevr had to and done plenty of cams.

 

Hey bud, dont be scared of it, it isnt rocket science, I promise! Get a good manual, good parts, having someone available to give you pointers helps, if you need advice send me an e-mail and Ill give you my phone number. The only way you will learn to do this is to be unafraid to open up a can of worms! I built my first 289 when I was 15 and it all turned out ok! Here are some quick tips..

1. drain radiator and remove. you have to have the radiator out to have room to pull the cam out whith the engine "in frame"
2. pull distributor
3. pull the intake and the valve covers.you need to pull the lifters out before you pull the cam, loosen up the rocker arms and pull the pushrods.remove the lifters, sometimes the lifters will be beat crapless on the bottom and you cant hardly get them out, use visegrips and force them out , if they wont comeout this way, ask and I'll tell you a neat trick that i have done that works.
4.pull fan, water pump, fuel pump, belt pulley and harmonic balancer (you will need apulling tool)and timing case cover.
5. unbolt cam gear and remove said gear. dont lose the fuel pump excentric!
6. unbolt and remove cam retainer plate.
7. reinstall cam gear (to have something to hold onto!
8. REAL GENTLY pull camshaft.

To reinstall reverse instructions. Getting the timing right and the valves set right takes a little patience for an unexpereinced hand, but it isnt a big deal. you wont make any mistakes that someone else hasnt made before! give yourself a few days to do this, have all the needed parts and gaskets on hand before you start, and for a new guy I suggest having ziplock bags marked with what bolts are inside to keep yourself organised. DO GET A MANUAL, when you reinstall there are torque specs you need to follow, and when reinstalling the intake you have to tighten the bolts in a very particular order, particulary on a aluminum intake. Look at it as something fun even though you will probably get frustrated, and if you get flustered, WALK AWAY AND TAKE A BREAK! I hope this helps and I hope you jump in to it, you will get alot more pride and satisfaction out of our hobby if you do things on your own!

 

Oh something i forgot to mention on #4 , when pulling the timing case cover, THERE ARE BOLTS COMING UP THROUGH THE OIL PAN TO SAID COVER, I knew a guy once doing this for the first time that got a little crazy with a bar because he didnt realize there were bolts coming through the bottom, luckily for him I had a spare cover! and before you reinstall the cover, dont skimp...put a new crank oil seal in, if you dont she WILL LEAK.

 

my bad... you're right. Just pull the rockers and pushrods

 

Props to Mustangs And M1's!

 

My 17 year old son recently did this on his "other brand" pickup... with a little supervision/help from me on setting the valve timing, lifter preload, and changing the valve springs.

He learned a lot on this install, like not forgetting to remove the rags from the valley prior to installing the intake... , and the need to seal the ends of the manifold really, really good.. with the right sealant, the latter issue was kind of my fault for not looking at the tube of sealantclosely before giving him the ok to use it....

He had to remove the manifold three times to complete the job, but he did get it done in a reasonable time frame.

We learned about the proper installation of guide plates, some differences in "other brand" cam retention, how to change valve springs with the heads on the engine, and what sealant not to usefor this application.

Get a good reference book and proceed carefully, checking and rechecking your work, and you can do the job if you have reasonable mechanical abilities.