Putting a Caprice engine (L05-7) into a 92 g30 van (has L80e trans)

[Danboquist]

Since you have posted this, you have fallen into the rabbit hole, and the rest of us were just waiting for you at the bottom of it.
If your only ambition here is a "functional van", you should buy a replacement 350 that will mate up to your 4L80, EBL flash, and make sure you have a proper flowing exhaust. Remember K.I.S.
And this is coming from a guy building a 383 for a 16 year old, so whatever that's worth.

I know, right? Some people are just gluttons for punishment.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Since you have posted this, you have fallen into the rabbit hole, and the rest of us were just waiting for you at the bottom of it.
If your only ambition here is a "functional van", you should buy a replacement 350 that will mate up to your 4L80, EBL flash, and make sure you have a proper flowing exhaust. Remember K.I.S.
And this is coming from a guy building a 383 for a 16 year old, so whatever that's worth.

The EBL is not a suitable replacement for a 4L80E or 4L60E for that matter equipped TBI truck or van.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Since you have posted this, you have fallen into the rabbit hole, and the rest of us were just waiting for you at the bottom of it.
If your only ambition here is a "functional van", you should buy a replacement 350 that will mate up to your 4L80, EBL flash, and make sure you have a proper flowing exhaust. Remember K.I.S.
And this is coming from a guy building a 383 for a 16 year old, so whatever that's worth.

Given there is no suitable direct replacement 350 with a roller cam that is plug and play for that van and that G30 is a tank on wheels that should have come with a 366 big block at the minimum, the 383 makes more sense to me. Then again 350s can run well and do run well, even flat tappet ones. I have never had an issue running a flat tappet cam that was not a Comp cam or older run to death 70s/80s GM. By the late 80s and early 90s GM was using the hardened face lifters in them from the factory. My uncle ran his 94 C1500 over 350K and owned it well past the point that the oils went to the low vitamins and minerals version. I use Rotella T5 15w40 when I run a flat tappet cam small block. The Lunati HE flat tappet cam using Rhoads lifters put on a cam that had already been broken in with GM hardened faced lifters is still running in a friend of mines 99 Denali. I put 60K on that cammed L30 305 in my 99 Tahoe and he has added another 100K to that engine in the past 4-5 years since I sold it to him. I gave him strict instruction to run the Rotella and I am fairly certain he still does.

 

[Danboquist]

Given there is no suitable direct replacement 350 with a roller cam that is plug and play for that van and that G30 is a tank on wheels that should have come with a 366 big block at the minimum, the 383 makes more sense to me. Then again 350s can run well and do run well, even flat tappet ones. I have never had an issue running a flat tappet cam that was not a Comp cam or older run to death 70s/80s GM. By the late 80s and early 90s GM was using the hardened face lifters in them from the factory. My uncle ran his 94 C1500 over 350K and owned it well past the point that the oils went to the low vitamins and minerals version. I use Rotella T5 15w40 when I run a flat tappet cam small block.

The only issue that I have heard of with flat tappet cams is failure on break in.
Buy an engine, put it in, and the cam craps out within the first 15 minutes. Pull the engine back out and I have to prove that I didn’t “broke it in wrong”.
No thanks.

 

[SNCTMPL]

The EBL is not a suitable replacement for a 4L80E or 4L60E for that matter equipped TBI truck or van.

I used it in my 94 with 4L60e. I used instructions from the site and re-pinned new connectors for the EBL, and left the original pcm to run the trans. Worked like a champ.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

The only issue that I have heard of with flat tappet cams is failure on break in.
Buy an engine, put it in, and the cam craps out within the first 15 minutes. Pull the engine back out and I have to prove that I “broke it in wrong”.
No thanks.

Alot of good engine builders have a dyno and many offer a break-in done on the dyno to make sure everything isnin order. Not saying that is what I would do myself, but it is often an option. Myself having driven and owned several heavy boxes on wheels, I would want the roller cam 383. It literally makes them feel 2,000 lbs lighter in normal driving.

 

[SNCTMPL]

Given there is no suitable direct replacement 350 with a roller cam that is plug and play for that van and that G30 is a tank on wheels that should have come with a 366 big block at the minimum, the 383 makes more sense to me. Then again 350s can run well and do run well, even flat tappet ones. I have never had an issue running a flat tappet cam that was not a Comp cam or older run to death 70s/80s GM. By the late 80s and early 90s GM was using the hardened face lifters in them from the factory. My uncle ran his 94 C1500 over 350K and owned it well past the point that the oils went to the low vitamins and minerals version. I use Rotella T5 15w40 when I run a flat tappet cam small block. The Lunati HE flat tappet cam using Rhoads lifters put on a cam that had already been broken in with GM hardened faced lifters is still running in a friend of mines 99 Denali. I put 60K on that cammed L30 305 in my 99 Tahoe and he has added another 100K to that engine in the past 4-5 years since I sold it to him. I gave him strict instruction to run the Rotella and I am fairly certain he still does.

I agree with you that the 383 makes sense, but it does start one down the hole.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I used it in my 94 with 4L60e. I used instructions from the site and re-pinned new connectors for the EBL, and left the original pcm to run the trans. Worked like a champ.

That is an option, but takes the swap further down the rabbit hole in complication compared to just chipping and re-tuning the OE computer.

 

[Danboquist]

Alot of good engine builders have a dyno and many offer a break-in done on the dyno to make sure everything isnin order. Not saying that is what I would do myself, but it is often an option. Myself having driven and owned several heavy boxes on wheels, I would want the roller cam 383. It literally makes them feel 2,000 lbs lighter in normal driving.

This is my 3rd G30. I love ‘em. Monsters. I own the road in it

 

[SNCTMPL]

That is an option, but takes the swap further down the rabbit hole in complication compared to just chipping and re-tuning the OE computer.

Even with re-pinning and running two computers, I found EBL much easier to use than reprogramming a chip.