Pro-Gram 4 Bolt Billet Main Caps!

[8valves]

Hi everyone! I am now an official basic vendor, and as so will offer these to the public for a while to see how much interest there is.

I have gone throught he effort, and cost, to have Pro-Gram Engineering design a custom 4 bolt billet main cap for the 89+ common blocks. You cannot use the balance shaft assembly with these!

These are applicable and should be considered for anyone flirting with the 400+ WHP land for any amount of time. Brian Slowe commented that after his last season that his stock main caps no longer had a snug fit... obviously it was time for an upgrade to prevent a catastrophic failure.

Features:

- Machined from billet SAE 1045
- Tensile strength of 90,500, about three times that of the block!
- Black oxide for an awesome look
- Utilizes all existing bolt holes save for only two!
- Beautiful construction with no abrupt height changes or cheap
appearance, and no chances of stress risers
- Pre-machined for the thrust beaing on number 3, with the bearing tangs
on all of them
- Uses the stock front and rear main to keep stock seals and retainer plates
- CNC Vertical Machined
- All certified domestic steel used, all made and machined in the US!


For those of you that know me and my car, I don't cheap out on stuff. I wanted the 100% best possible product to keep my crank (engine that is!) in place.

This carries the seal of approval from both Steve Menegon (BadFastGTC) and Brian Slowe (turbo2point2) who were both critical in the help and patience in the first run of these caps. Both were overly impressed with the quality of the pieces delivered. Specifically mentioned was that "the pictures don't do them justice."

To pull directly from the Pro-Gram site.......

"Pro-Gram Engineering has had the pleasure of serving the automotive community for 22 years and is proud to claim the title of the world's largest and best manufacturer of aftermarket main bearing caps. Dedicating ourselves to the principle of "quality, not quantity, is our #1 product" enables us to provide a superior part in design, manufacture and material. These principles have allowed us to provide parts to all facets of the automotive performance industry including NASCAR's Nextel, Busch and Craftsman series, NHRA Drag Racing, NTPA Tractor Pullers, Offshore and Drag Boat Racing as well as industrial and military applications.
Quality, as defined by Webster, is "the degree of excellence of a thing"; Pro-Gram Engineering strives to maintain an excellent quality in our materials and production methods.

Material: With the influx of lesser quality goods and materials to the US, Pro-Gram Engineering solely uses materials certified as produced in the US. This allows us to guarantee the quality of the materials used in our parts, which are critical in any performance application.
Equipment: The machinery and equipment used to manufacture our products is continually being maintained and upgraded to ensure the highest precision available.
Location: Pro-Gram Engineering manufactures all of it's goods here in the US. Our manufacturing facility is located in Barberton, OH, which allows us to have direct influence on our product quality and manufacturing methods.
Personnel: Pro-Gram Engineering proudly employs highly skilled men and women from the surrounding communities. The combined machining and manufacturing experience at our, and your, disposal is in excess of half a century. While already highly skilled and competent, Pro-Gram engineering's employees are continually trained in new manufacturing methods and techniques as well as CAD design and software. Pro-Gram Engineering's technical support team of Ken and Dan Anderson have been working and serving the automotive racing industry as father and son for 13 years while Ken has served the automotive community at large for over 43 years. "

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN A SET

I will have a final updated price within the next day or so. As it stands I sold the caps for $425 shipped. I actually lost money on one of the sets due to shipping snafu's on my part.

YES- I know there are cheaper available.
NO - I don't care. These guys are the best out there, with the
best reputation, period. Go ask pro-stock guys who's caps
they're running. If they tell you, it'll likely be Pro-Gram's. Off
shore racers? Same deal.
NO - I do not sell the bolts reuired with them. Your machine shop should
be able to order them with no hassle if they're capable of installing
the caps in the first place.
YES- A line bore and hone will be necessary after installation. This is
standard procedure when tweaking with your main bore.

Please PM me and I will add you to a list of names that I will continue to update on here. Once I get a number of people interested and the money in hand I will get them made up and shipped as fast as possible. Please inform me if you are in any sort of time crunch and I can let you know whether or not we can make the deadline.

Thanks for the interest!

http://www.pro-gram.com/index.jsp

[turbovanman²]

Congrats man, welcome and you have a PM.

[BadFastGTC]

I had called Pro-Gram with refrence to the requirements of the outer bolts. They had said a Grade 8 or better will suffice. ARP does not make a short 10mm x 1.5 stud. They do have some that are 3.5" long that can be used for mounting of a windage screen/tray if one so desired. These caps are terrific gang. Aaron didn't post a picture of them looking down on the cap as it would be positioned in the block, but they sure are first class!

[8valves]

I had called Pro-Gram with refrence to the requirements of the outer bolts. They had said a Grade 8 or better will suffice. ARP does not make a short 10mm x 1.5 stud. They do have some that are 3.5" long that can be used for mounting of a windage screen/tray if one so desired. These caps are terrific gang. Aaron didn't post a picture of them looking down on the cap as it would be positioned in the block, but they sure are first class!

Thank you much sir. I should do that actually... I don't have my camera in the car otherwise I could go snap some pictures after work. That would give people a great idea of how they fit though.

I know there isn't a huge market for this stuff though, so I doubt THAT many people really want a set.

[turbovanman²]

Stilll waiting,

[8valves]

Stilll waiting,

So am I! I'm trying to see if I can get people a better price than what they are now. If not, they'll still be available, but at a higher price.

I should have an answer tommorow sometime. To have them made shouldn't take much time at all.

[turbovanman²]

So am I! I'm trying to see if I can get people a better price than what they are now. If not, they'll still be available, but at a higher price.

I should have an answer tommorow sometime. To have them made shouldn't take much time at all.

Thanks.

[8valves]

PRICE:

A big thanks to Pro-Gram for working with me on getting a lower price so that I can offer them for a better price to all of you!

The current price for all three main caps, shipped to your door to the lower 48 states is now only $399!! For those from neighboring Canada, I unfortunately have to bump that up a hair since these aren't lightweights and are quite costly to ship. Canada residents will be $415 shipped.

Price list including shipping
Lower 48: $399
Canada : $415

I need 4 orders paid in full to move along with this. Unfortunately I am not in any sort of financial position to pony up that kind of cash and hope people will buy. Maybe later in life!

I'm glad I could put out an excellent product at an extremely market competetive price range. Hopefully you guys agree!

Date of Completion:
Time table is roughed out at depending on when the order gets put in 2-6 weeks delivery time. The 6 weeks is there as a buffer for just in case situations.

Please post or PM me with your questions, concerns, or orders! Thanks... now I'm off to the track for the day!

[glhs441]

How long do the bolts need to be? for both the inside and out side 10mm x 1.50 x ???
I can provide either 10.9 hex head or 12.9 socket head cap screws.

[glhs441]

Will the FWD 4 bolt main stud kit work with these?

[Turbo Joe]

Surprised to see me here andy? anyhow good question. but the fwd bolt kit would be useless with these pro-gram mains. The fwd kit is designed to work with the "other" set availible. Props on these Aaron, they look real nice

[Turbo Joe]

damm, that answer didn't totally come out right.. in other words, the regular main stud kit is what you would want and then just add-in you bolts from your inventory. I'd go with 12.9 socket head. the 4bolt main kits are all long bolts, and these caps are stepped. Hope this clears up the confusing post i previously made..

[turbovanman²]

Awesome price Aaron, thanks.

[glhs441]

Could I not just use 12.9 socket heads for all the main bolts and save the $75
that the ARP main studs cost? What lengths would I need?

[8valves]

Could I not just use 12.9 socket heads for all the main bolts and save the $75
that the ARP main studs cost? What lengths would I need?

What you choose to run for bolts/studs is up to you and your engine builder. I would run no less than the ARP main stud kit for the centers, which work like stock mains, and then we're just using bolts for the outer holes. I believe the total length of the outers ends up being something like 75mm, but don't quote me on that.

Thanks to those that like them. Now I just need people to step up and buy them!

[4 l-bodies]

Aaron,
PM sent.
Todd

[8valves]

PM sent back, c'mon folks, help each other out and get two more people to buy and that way the price stays down for everyone!

[glhs727]

actually those 4 bolt mains look just like ours (well except not black oxide) and if they use the existing holes for the balance shafts for the mounting holes on the outer, then our 4 bolt main stud kit would work for Pro-Gram mains as well as the mains we sell.
later,
Cindy

[8valves]

actually those 4 bolt mains look just like ours (well except not black oxide) and if they use the existing holes for the balance shafts for the mounting holes on the outer, then our 4 bolt main stud kit would work for Pro-Gram mains as well as the mains we sell.
later,
Cindy

Cool, that makes life pretty easy I'd say. Do you have the bolt/stud dimensions so I can check against my block here? I'd like to make sure before I tell people they "should" work.

Thanks.

[Mario]

The quality on these pieces is top notch. Nice background for the pictures by the way.