[shermanator2]

The valley ends of a Pontiac block seem to be exactly a 6" radius. See the attached picture of a pair of saddles that I made to mount my block in my Bridgeport for a different purpose.

I have a block that I was thinking about installing splayed caps on. I have a set of the Milodon splayed caps. They come with a drill bushing and say to use that and a hand drill. The Bridgeport seems like a better idea.

The thrust surfaces on the #4 cap seem to be the tough part. I have not found anyone local to me (San Diego) that can do them.

And you probably already know this, but with splayed caps, you cannot run a dipstick in the normal location.

[spectramitch]

Originally Posted by shermanator2

The valley ends of a Pontiac block seem to be exactly a 6" radius. See the attached picture of a pair of saddles that I made to mount my block in my Bridgeport for a different purpose.

I have a block that I was thinking about installing splayed caps on. I have a set of the Milodon splayed caps. They come with a drill bushing and say to use that and a hand drill. The Bridgeport seems like a better idea.

The thrust surfaces on the #4 cap seem to be the tough part. I have not found anyone local to me (San Diego) that can do them.

And you probably already know this, but with splayed caps, you cannot run a dipstick in the normal location.

I like your saddle idea

I had a thought to address the thrust face. I was planning on bolting the No.4 cap on, indicate the amount of stock on the cap to the block face, then remove cap and cut measured step off clamped in a vise. Obviously do a semi finish and verify stock removal is on the right track and square.

[mgarblik]

The machine shop that will be line boring the 3 center caps should be able to cut the thrust faces as well. It's part of the process. My Sunnen line bore attachment for the line hone will cut the thrust faces. It's a little crude, but it will cut them. Billet caps are really tough and can produce a little chatter. Check with your machine shop. Not sure how to cut the thrust faces in a Bridgeport without a rotary table and a fly cutter. That would be pretty tough. Mounting the caps is pretty easy in a Bridgeport. I just use a transfer punch to line up the drill guide. Drill and tap. Pretty simple.

[spectramitch]

I made the plates able to hold the block square and at 18°.

[spectramitch]

Well she is back in my hands and its time to start checking clearances. I am wondering what torque sequence is proper for the Splayed caps? Do I finish torque studs then do the splayed bolts? or incrementally both of them? The engine machinist specified 100ft/lbs on studs and 65ft/lbs and splayed.

[spectramitch]

Current Progress, I think the fixture is coming along nice. Now I need to pick up locations of dowels in the block and in the cap to figure out what amount to move holes to get back in line with each other. I am going to try to make 8mm dowels work.