Texas 9C1's Caprice Build

[Texas9C1]

I figured it's about time to post the build's progress.

My 2013 Caprice PPV was a former Corsicana Police cruiser, stickers in the vehicle and a crash report helped figure that part out. It's not by far the cleanest exterior wise, but we didn't buy the car for looks anyway. We did not have any problems with the 6.0 for the 3 years we had it stock and it put down excellent power on a baseline dyno at 307 WHP on STD. The numbers seemed high to me at first until we tore down the engine and discovered that it had been replaced at some point. Inside the engine was super clean despite being ran on 87 most of the time.

I started the DOD delete about a little over a month ago, mostly working when we could on weekends. The last couple of days we have wrapped up this project, and have netted positive results before we take the PPV to the tuner to be tuned on 93.

Previous Mods Before the DOD delete:
- Solo Axle Back J-Pipes
- Pedders Coilovers
- 3.27 SS Diff Swap
- DSS 800+HP Axles

Mods During DOD Delete:
- BLP Deluxe Kit
- BLP Probationary Cam
- LS3 Hollow Stem Valves
- New Stock Oil Pump
- New Gaskets / Seals / Radiator Hoses on everything we touched
- ARP Crank Pulley Bolt
- CHE Trunion Upgrade
- Speed Engineering Headers & X-Pipe
- 16-17 SS Roto Fab Intake
- Pressure Relief Valve Plug

First Start Up was successful, no leaks anywhere or surprises, and good oil pressure. Caprice is a lot louder, I am going to figure out a way to fit a Solo Mach Muffler behind the X-Pipe hopefully. Biggest helpers we had were service manuals, taking pictures of everything we touched, lifting up the engine to drop the oil pan fully, and DOD delete guides on various sources. I'll post more pictures if anybody would like them.

Here is a link to a video of start-up: https://youtube.com/shorts/Vo6u4ZvJYM4? ... RfjXh7ZKpL

Before:

IMG_0406.jpg (2.7 MiB) Viewed 243 times

After:

IMG_0831.jpg (2.74 MiB) Viewed 243 times

[Scrammbledeggs]

Sounds good man! Where did you get those rocker panel lifts from they look good

[Texas9C1]

Sounds good man! Where did you get those rocker panel lifts from they look good

We got them from Costco Online, it's a Quickjack 5000 TLX.

[Scrammbledeggs]

Thank you !

[jomama]

Sounds good man! Just to clarify, was the engine replaced with an OEM L77 (I’m assuming yes, based on the DOD delete you did)? I’ve been looking for good baseline drivetrain data specific to the PPV, and just want to confirm that 307 WHP was based on the OEM 355 HP flywheel rating (which your numbers suggest about 13.5% losses). Was there anything else you discovered that would suggest these numbers wouldn’t be representative of the norm?

Also, FWIW, the car produce good results using an E85-based tune in lieu of 93, since the heads were milled and could take advantage of E85’s properties better than with the original dimensions. Not sure if it would help as much in your case, but after some fairly basic mods and a more aggressive (but by no means more than moderate [BTR Stage II] cam), the car put down 502 WHP.

[Texas9C1]

Sounds good man! Just to clarify, was the engine replaced with an OEM L77 (I’m assuming yes, based on the DOD delete you did)? I’ve been looking for good baseline drivetrain data specific to the PPV, and just want to confirm that 307 WHP was based on the OEM 355 HP flywheel rating (which your numbers suggest about 13.5% losses). Was there anything else you discovered that would suggest these numbers wouldn’t be representative of the norm?

Yeah it was replaced with a OEM L77, still had DOD active until I had it disabled when I tuned the speedometer to match the 3.27 rear end. The raw horsepower number was corrected using STD which from my understanding boosts numbers up a little. I don't quite remember what the SAE number was; I think it was right below 300 WHP. My tuner prefers to use STD for some reason, and the dyno he uses is a dynocom. It could also just be a good engine that has low mileage.

Also, FWIW, the car produce good results using an E85-based tune in lieu of 93, since the heads were milled and could take advantage of E85’s properties better than with the original dimensions. Not sure if it would help as much in your case, but after some fairly basic mods and a more aggressive (but by no means more than moderate [BTR Stage II] cam), the car put down 502 WHP.

I decided to not mill the heads on my build yet, my reasons were that I didn't want to push it too hard in case I end up somewhere where I could only use 91 or some lesser octane. I would have liked to use E85 too, but in my area the closest station that has it is a 30 minute drive. Also, I make a lot of short trips typically throughout the day which can cause moisture build up when not being careful when having E85.

[jomama]

Thanks for the additional info! The STD vs. SAE makes for a bigger difference…comes out to about 295-ish WHP…which equates to about 17% losses. Not too bad considering the beefier setup (steelies, heavier driveshaft and axles, etc.).

Milling the heads really helped in my case because I stayed with NA (based on $$ constraints). For info’s sake, I milled down 0.030 and it’ll run 91 fine, but nothing lower. However, your call may be a good one depending on what you’re planning to do down the road. I am planning on going forced induction down the line and might end up switching back to the original dimensions, as the higher compression I have now may pose a bit of a challenge when it comes to how much boost I can run (I’m still researching that bit).