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[g8-ish]

Hello Everyone, I recently picked up a "new to me" 2012 9C1 L77 @91k miles. I have already used the forum to help out with part selection for my upcoming cam swap / DOD delete. I'll list the parts I'm going with below as well as some things I'm looking into. So far all I've done with the car is the Roto-fab CAI and deleted the suitcase mufflers.

Blue Line Performance deluxe cam swap/ DOD delete kit
BTR stage 2 Camshaft
BTR 660 lift platinum spring kit w/ TITANIUM retainers
BTR 5/16″ Pushrods 7.400”
Valley Cover
Valley Cover Bolts
Valley cover gasket
4 x lifter trays
Front Timing cover gasket
Water pump gaskets
3 bolt timing gear
GMPP HD timing chain
LS2 timing chain tensioner
Full set of Ls7 lifters (16)
ARP cam bolts
ARP pro series head bolt kit
Oil Pump O ring gasket
GM Crank Pulley bolt
LS3 Headgaskets OEM
HV (CTSV V2) Melling Oil Pump
ARP Crank Pulley Bolt Upgrade
CHE Trunion Upgrade
8 X NGK TR6 plugs (Copper) 4177
(FYI - Total cost for the above was around $1800 shipped as of 10/2022)


- I'm leaning towards the speed engineering G8/SS headers / X-pipe as a cost savings vs. Kooks
- Possible rear end swap to the Camaro 3.23 or 3.45
- Deep transmission pan upgrade
- Any comments or tips are welcome, as this is my first LS powered cruiser coming from working on mostly Japanese sport bikes, Thank you.

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ment]

[Mooseman]

Welcome! Nice looking ride and you have a solid plan for mods.

Was it repainted? Underhood looks to be white.

[GammaFlat]

I love the color. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust . It "feels" like a Ford color to my eye but I really like it on a Caprice.

You may want to hold off on the push rods. Changing out parts of the valve-train (lifters, cam) can "mess with" the required length. It's easy and cheap to get the measuring device: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-7702-1.

A cam is certainly the easiest way to get more ponies out of an L77.. or most LS engines for that matter. The rec' port heads we've got are good for 600 horsepower. The intake manifold is also hard to improve on. The exhaust (2nd highest priority) is worth looking at but it's not (my opinion) worth a boatload of HP's. Dyno runs on rectangular port head LS engines show small improvements (using long tube headers compared to exhaust manifolds) on the high end (10-15hp) but larger gains in lower RPM range. Compare that with picking up 75-125hp when upgrading the cam. Admittedly, there are overlap and "combined effect" impacts when making more than one change.

Stepping away from the dream world of theoretical horsepower, there are pragmatic issues that maybe need to be dealt with.

• Tuning. I think (another opinion ) making changes to a Caprice engine (or any LS) needs to be met with a lot of money for tuning or better still the willingness and ability to learn how to tune your own engine. Sure, you can have someone else tune your engine but I don't know too many people that are completely satisfied with remote tuning (I have read about them, but don't know any). And to get it right, tuning needs to be revisited with log files to continue improvement.

• Differential. Sounds like you're all over this one. You want to upgrade your differential for two reasons. 1) strength, 2) better ratio. The good news is that Camaro differentials (address both reasons) are somewhat plentiful for 400-800 bucks. Any change will require "tune software" to correct your speedo'.

• 'Zaust. You have nice ideas here. Exhaust sound is subject but usually pretty important. A good exhaust system also impacts horsepower.

• Suspension including brakes, wheels and tires. If you have the potential of going fast, it's good to have the potential to stop and turn. There's plenty of threads covering this.

• Deep Trans Pan. Sounds like you're doing this. Don't forget the "deep filter" as well. You may also want to install a trans dip stick. Getting your trans fluid level correct without that is ridiculous and arguably impossible.

• I see you have a new valley cover. Does that address "plugging" the DOD actuators? There are a couple ways to do it (special valley cover, allen screws in "newly threaded" holes). If you don't do this, you'll suffer low oil pressure problems.

Good luck. Enjoy your beautiful car.

[g8-ish]

Yes it was repainted before I picked it up so I’m not sure what the color code would be. Carfax says it was a patrol vehicle in southern Florida, then auctioned off to the dealer in Ohio where I found it.

I have a local LS tuner lined up once the swap is complete, so we can make any changes to the initial tune as needed. I will have to make sure the valley cover in the kit addresses plugging the no longer needed actuators.

Thanks for the info, I’ll start a build thread once some progress is made.

[GammaFlat]

Here, a guy is using a rivets to block the passages (a third method).

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