Give Steve a call at Lunati and ask about another cam. I think you can go a little better than you have now. Funny thing about the gear drive, huh? I hear that almost 100% of the time...but when the guys put them in, and we tell them not to cause they're gonna get tired of them, they get all defensive and tell us to pi** off, they know they will like them! Im going to print off your post and keep it for future gear drive fans! Im not familiar with the one piece pan gaskets, but I would think you can do it if you're careful, and clean every surface really good before you put it back together. Im a big block fan myself, but have done cam swaps no less than 6 times with the engine in the car, removing only the front cover, and never had an oil leak. Im not sure that it would work with a small block though. I do think others have done it however. John