[Steve C.]

Will- is this inconjunction with the installation of aftermarket steel caps?

I found this of interest.
It's from a article in PE Mag/ March/April '02.
Picture shows a guy pointing at a main dowel in the block. Within the caption and in referance to installing steel caps, it says the process is more difficulit on a Pontiac than on other engines because the dowel pins used to align the main caps are like fingerprints - no two are exactly alike.
It goes on to say that the company doing the work installs oversize dowls (no size given) to ensure a tight fit and then cut's a "removal notch" on the side of the cap to facilitate removal.

( caption continues on with.. Once the new caps are fitted, the block is align-bored and the block surfaces are machined parallel to the crank centerline and the proper distance from the crank centerline )