toyinhawaii

Storytime: Hi all, long time lurker, newbie joiner

what I got: 84 El Camino installing a LT1 w/ 4L60E

Why the LT1: picked up a 94 caprice LS (in 2006) with about a 150,000 mileson it (I may be wrong though) for $1200 with shot ring and pinion gears.Swapped out my 350 w/ 3spd into the caprice, threw in good R/Pgears and flipped it for $7200...walaa...cash for my build..not quite...Iwas lucky to buy a water pump for it..the rest went to the honey due list andkids this and that (college,etc..). so it sat up until about a month ago (atleast back in 2006 I got it running and got everything I thought I would needfrom the donor car before I flipped it). Why just now starting on it: mycoworker friend threw a 350 crate into his elky over the weekend, so hence my anger, jealousnesstowards him..i went home and started ripping off the hood, fenders, frontcap...etc. It was due time to get my baby back on the road. I’ve read Q and A’sfrom here and also at elcaminocentral.com and a few other places, trying to getknowledgeable about the LT1...kkk. nuff story.



For knowledge: I have the complete 3 book service manual for the ‘94 caprice,HPbooks How to rebuild Small block chevy LT1/LT4, TPI/TBI ENGINE SWAPPING byJTR..and all my notes and drawings

The plan: no racing, just bump it up from stock , mild street with stillgood mpg( with 3 months of driving the donor car I got around 20 mpg)..i couldwork with 18 mpg



The rebuild: Just got the block and iron heads back from the machine shop (snyders M.S. Waipahu, Hi). This is what I gotfor $1750.00

Labor:Tear down, hot tanked and magged, block and rods redone, pistonsinstall and align, crank polished, valve grind, head refaced .008, reassemblyof everything. Parts: Clevite pistons0.30 #224-2770, Clevite :piston rings, cam, crank and journal bearings and freezplugs

Advice welcomed on the following (I have searched around here on the forumsand there is to much good info to choose from .

Block and Heads: problem parts and best pricing (where to go), went to mylocal GM parts service, napa, carquest and trying oreilly’s. Water pump drive gearp/n 10219554 only found at GMPARTS DIRECT.COM for 129.30 and pn 12556260 - PIPE Coolantpipe includes bolt and seals..for $110.00 (only need the 2 seals though, localGM still trying to locate. Camshaft; looking at comp cams ..asked comp cam repand he babbled something about not avail. For 92-94 LT1’s would have to get onefor a 95-97 LT1 and change the optispark..not sure what to think on this..wouldlike to stay with my OEM roller lifters and OEM springs and would like to gowith roller rockers (steel) 1.6. with that said can I use an OEM 3 pc timinggear setup? Optispark: I heard to buy brand new OEM GM or MSD..peoplesexperinces ranged from satisfied with these to not happy campers because theybought an off brand or reused or rebuilt theirs.

Intake: wouldleave it possibly stock, but since its been sitting for atleast 5 yrs withoutstarting up..kind of concerned about the injectors..would there be any internalcorrosion? I threw some Sta-Bil in the tank and run it through before shuttingit down. Drained the tank and lines and smelled like a faint turpentine odor…only had about 6 gallons.

PCM: had it tunedbefore but with the install of a new cam and probably going with a 2002 camaro brakeand rear end setup..not sure on those gears yet. I would be getting it re-tuned

4L60E; Going fora rebuild and shift kit….what about a converter? i thinkI will need to get one that matches with the cam? Would this be correct?

Ok, that’s allfor now…thanks all !!...If this is in the wrong area...sorry

toyinhawaii

i called comp cams again and talked to someone else that i could better understand. he said that they dont have enough 92-94 oem cams that they could turn. and the 92-94 cams nose was different but that was as far as how he could elaborate. so basically he said i would have to get a cam for a 95-97 lt1 and changeout the timing cover and optispark. ???? first off why did he say "they didnt they have enough oem cams to turn". I thought these are brand new cams? i went to oreillys (only place who had a cam for me ) melling 22110 and matched it up to mine "600". the difference i saw was the dowel pin on mine was twice as long and the center hole (in the nose of the cam) on mine was larger and deeper, the melling was smaller and shallow. Now i understand what the comp cam guy was saying. So it looks like find the correct cam for my 94 or change to a 95-97 camshaft and a 95-97 optispark. Going to look for other makers but anyone have this experience and found one that fits?....thanks

shbox

IIRC, the b-body came with the vented opti sooner than the f-body. Your cam is like the f-body 95.97. There is nothing you need to change there.

toyinhawaii

thanks shbox, for confirming, I also gave JEGs tech a call, the guy there said the same...looks like i'll be going with:

comp cam 276-HR-14
comp cam magnum R. Rockers 249-1417-16
Accel optispark 110-59125

Still looking for the w.p. driveshaft #10219554. GMPARTSDIRECT says its on backorder.. the guy couldn't tell me if it would be 2 weeks-2months or never.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Stay the hell away from Accel Optiparks.....tons of threads about failures. Look for a MSD or AC Delco (yes you have to spend $400+ for a decent distributor )

You have been warned!

BALLSS

I would stay away from the Accel Opti

get a Delphi from rockauto.com

try Mike @ Hamilton Chevrolet for the gear

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Got more specs on those pistons. Best I can tell those are a 1970 spec piston, in otherwords probably a step BACKWARDS from stock.

Tech lines like Summit and Jegs are TERRIBLE sources for advise, sure those are good vendors but you will get more bad info than good.

Talking about a cam but wanting to keep stock springs, well the stock springs are JUNK for the stock cam, known to float by 4800rpm...

The cam might not be a horrible choice if you have to pass a tailpipe test and run 1.5 rockers or machine the heads because .510 with 1.5s means more lift than there is retainer to seal clearance with 1.6s....

As covered you need a 95-97 cam.

You are headed down the wrong path.

Oh and the 7.5" axle from a Camaro is crap, fragile, you should be looking for a 8.5" axle.

As also covered the Accel opti is bad bad news fairly common to be dead out of the box.

toyinhawaii

Thanks ahritchie...but you took a long time to reply ....29 minutes..i read constant threads on your same about the Accel..jus wondering how long it would take someone to reply to scold me.. I did though ask "Bob 20 yr race pit crew and 20 yr hard core GM floor mechanic " that same question about the failure rate...he said: MSD basically sucked.. cars on the track used 2 MSD coils...why...because 1 was always prone to fail..MSD opti...was no better..jus an expensive name..Mallory/Accel had a better rating. I checked the reviews on summit for the Accel opti and there were a few complaints of failure like you said...AC delco was my first choice but little hard to come by here.. I expected the price to be high..but if so..then no choice... but kinda hard to shell out $525-628 for one(at least thats so far what I've seen).. also saw some not favorable threads on rebuilding/replacing parts on the A/C delco...local GM quoted me $365 for the cap,rotor and screws so obviously that would be nonsense too.

******...(and ahritchie) thanks to referral to Mike @ Hamilton Chevrolet for the gear.....just got off the phone with mike...no gear, but getting the optispark $400 and seals for the crossover steam pipe x4 @ $30...

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

I can't vouch for other's opti experiences or hearsay....I had used MSD opti rebuilt for $137 and it performs flawlessly. I've also had GM and cheap-o parts store optis....the GM ones do last longer, (I should have upgraded to a vented version long ago). Cheap-o optispark are just that...not worth a dog

Glad you saw the light!

toyinhawaii

96capricemgr-----''Got more specs on those pistons. Best I can tell those are a 1970 spec piston, in otherwords probably a step BACKWARDS from stock."........HOPE ITS NOT GOING TO TURN INTO A BAD THING

"Tech lines like Summit and Jegs are TERRIBLE sources for advise, sure those are good vendors but you will get more bad info than good."......YEA LIKE ahritchie SAID ABOUT THE HERESAY...I GUESS WE CAN ONLY TRUST AND LEARN THE BEST WE CAN THREW THESES FORUMS AND VENDORS...AND ALSO TRY TO HAVE GOOD "BRAIN KNOWLEDGE ALREADY TO COMPREHEND WHERE SOMEBODY IS LEADING YOU SO YOU KNOW IF ITS FACT,HELPFUL OR B.S. "

"Talking about a cam but wanting to keep stock springs, well the stock springs are JUNK for the stock cam, known to float by 4800rpm"... I BELEIVE IT WAS IN THE HP BOOK I WAS READING THAT THE STOCK SPRINGS WERE ONLY GOOD FOR THE OEM ONLY AND ANY UPGRADE WOULD NEED NEW SPRINGS..NOT TO SAAVY ON WHAT U MEANT BY "FLOAT"..WHAT COMBINATION WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?

"The cam might not be a horrible choice if you have to pass a tailpipe test and run 1.5 rockers or machine the heads because .510 with 1.5s means more lift than there is retainer to seal clearance with 1.6s"....NO tailpipe test HERE IN HAWAII...

As covered you need a 95-97 cam....GOT IT

You are headed down the wrong path.

"Oh and the 7.5" axle from a Camaro is crap, fragile, you should be looking for a 8.5" axle."....WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR A DONOR CAR...THE ELKY HAS 10" FRONT CALIPER AND REAR DRUM..WOULD LIKE TO UPGRADE TO A 12'' CALIPER ALL AROUND AND L.S. OR POS REAREND

"As also covered the Accel opti is bad bad news fairly common to be dead out of the box"...SEE ABOVE

THANKS

noer

Don't forget the oil passage ball under the rear main cap when you rebuild. Vital part to oil system

toyinhawaii

Thanks...I found that info in my HP book (P.40 and 45)...I asked the machine shop about it when I picked up the block..(they cleaned it)...this can be very easily overlooked.

toyinhawaii

Still cant find a W.P. gear....i'll take mine back to the machine shop to see if they can polish it, braze or grind it down to put a sleeve on it (that shaft area that gets worn where it meets the o ring area). doesn't seem like its got to much of a groove in it and didn't notice it was leaking...but then again the last time I had it running was back in 2006

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Maybe shim the seal outboard a little?

The 94-96 Caprice cop car had rear disc and bet the suspension is a lot closer. Splayed 4 link which is what the elky has right?

Old school pistons can be heavier with thicker more parasitic ring package.

toyinhawaii

yes its a 4 link suspension.....sorry what were you referring to >"Maybe shim the seal outboard a little?"

toyinhawaii

is the melling M-55 oil pump a good replacement? earlier post claim the casting was weak but that was in 2007..got this one at oreillys $28, napa has the sealed power-SEP #2244146 for $36...when I looked at it,it was a repackaged M-55. was looking for the clevite 601-8147 but decided I didn't need a HV

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Put some shim stock n the bottom of the seal bore hole in he timing cover to adjust where the seal rides on the shaft. Never tried it but stuck me as a way to avoid the slight groove that can form from miles of use.

Valve float is when the springs lose control of the valves. This can be throwing the lifter off the nose of the cam lobe sometimes done deliberately in racing called "lofting" to gain lift beyond what is ground into the cam, or "float" which is when the valves bounce off the seat when closed allowing compression to escape back to the intake.

toyinhawaii

took the W.P. shaft back to the machine shop..the guy said the grove wasn't that bad and polished it on the mini lathe...looks brand new!!!! ...no charge... He's also going to replace the OEM springs to support the comp cam 276-HR-14 I told him I wanted to put in it and he said as far as the R. Rockers they would be the 1.5...I want the steel stamped version but on JEGS there is so many choices.. I believe the self aligning, not sure on the stud 3/8 or 7/16... I think I got the 3/8...got double check. Optispark and steam coolant seals are being shipped out today by Mike from Hamiltion chevy

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

That cam is a really poor choice.
With .510 lift the stock rockers would be fine.
Also be aware Comp's rpm ranges are complete bullshit, stock cam revs higher than they claim that one does.
Don't be surprised if you have to rev that 6300rpm.
Ever find any real info on the pistons? Stock are 530grams ish from memory with narrow low friction rings that are easy on the bore, if your pistons are heavier with 5/64th or thicker rings they were a big move in the wrong direction.