I have a bit of an uphill battle on this engine. I plan on purchasing a 4.5 from an 88 or 89 deVille/Fleetwood and robbing the cylinder liner/piston assemblies from it. That will be the physical part of the 4.5 conversion.
The cam replacement will be a stock GM unit. The oil pump that came out of another GM rebuild is sound, but I may consider replacing it with a higher qulaity unit as a precautionary measure. These are a scource of problems on these engines also.
I already have the updated GM intake set with the spring loaded washers and tap. That is a must when replacing the intake gaskets. Also, the gasket material is upgraded from the original hard composition. I also have the latest design GM head gaskets.
I will also be hogging out the convertor and getting rid of the AIR if only for reason of convenience. It is a very difficult system to work around. The AIR pump will be retained simply as an idler for the belt system. These, with some other tuning measures, should yield a decently powerful and driveable car with decent fuel economy. No hot rod, but enough power as not to be embarrassed.
I am no stranger to these engines. I have torn down and repaired what seems like dozens of them, from the HT4100 to the 4.9 in the years I was working at the dealer. They no longer intimidate me!
Mike
