Eagle 4 bolt billet main caps, are they any good? I just want to know if this is a good idea. I know machining will have to be done, but is this product worth the conversion? Have any of you done it before? Will the stock oil pan still fit? I want to really strengthen the motor as much as possible before it goes into the car. God only know what I will do it I was thinking of doing this conversion to the 1994 Caprice 5.7 LT1 I have in my garage. Thanks everybody

If it were my money, Considering you're working with an LT1 motor out of a Caprice, Not worth the added cost unless you plan to only retain the block and build a motor capable of producing more than 500 hp. If that's your plan, you might be time and money ahead to purchase a short block or motor from Golen at http:www.golenengineservice.com. Otherwise, save your money and buy a decent set of heads and a matched cam.

Good luck

I've done this for a customer, it's a real hassle. After the align-boring and honing, we discovered noone, not even Cloyes, makes a .005"- or .010"- short timing chain set. The stock length had slack in it, and we ended up with a custom made tensioner and a heavily modified timing cover because of the custom tensioner. Then getting the cam timed in was a little extra work, too. A stock corvette 4-bolt LT1 block is fine for 6500 rpm and 800 supercharged HP, done as a 383 with a ProCharger with AFR 195 heads. I've seen that. GM just specifies 500 HP, and if you're doing it by turning a solid-roller-cammed LT4 to 7000 rpm, that's probably about right. Beyond that, I'd suggest swapping to an iron LSX block and building from there.

Ahh so it's not worth the hassle I see. Thanks. I was really only planning on making a bit shy of 500 hp all motor. So I suppose I don't really need it then. It's all I needed to know. A couple of people have told me not do it for the same reasons. Getting a more detailed explanation as to why not, is what I really needed. Thanks guys!!!

Hey, dont be dissuaded from building that LT motor if you already have a foundation to work with. Too many times LT platforms get a bad wrap by the traditional sb1 and the newer ls advocates. It's all good, just a matter of choosing and knowing what to expect from your investment. Being that you have the LT long block why not pull the heads and take the short block to your machine shop and have it inspected and freshend up? A good set of afr's, trick flows or edelbrock heads and a gm 847 cam or a comp cam plus a new edelbrock intake, you'd have a nice little motor... for not a huge wad of green.

Good luck

Far from dissuaded. The iron heads are already ported. 256cfm at .600 lift. And I have the intake manifold ported at the TB ports. I just need to port the runners. I also need a good streatable cam and the 1.6's. Maybe I wont get 400 plus, but atleast I'll know where to go from here. If I have to get better heads down the road, then so be it. I'm not on too tight of a budget, but I want to do what I can with what I have. I really appreciate all you guy's help, that's for sure. The LT1 is a great motor, and I got it for a good deal, so I'm swapping it.

Make sure you put all of the LT1 emissions equipment on it. You'll have to go through the "motor change" inspection, and that's the first thing they'll look for.

I bought the motor whole: wiring harness, sensors, '94 Camaro computer, exhaust manifolds, A.I.R. tubing and even an alternator. All for $900; three years ago. The motor has 69k miles on it too. I'm definitely keeping all the emissions jargon on it.

I for one wasn't trying to dissuade you from the LT1, just from the unnecessary caps. I loved the LT1 in the '95 Z28 I had.

Not sure about LT1's, but on LS1's, the vapor recovery system is on the fuel tank and is also required for a fully legal swap.