Northstar Allante as a collector?

[Cadillac Jim]

You want a project? How about an E-Rod LS3:

http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/erod/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-19244805/

If you don't want to deal with matching up the LS3 with the 4T80E transmission (there is one bolt hole difference in the bell housing pattern and there may be other issues), the motor mounts and exhaust routinng, or getting the hood to close on the Allante after you're done, well, sure, why not use a 4.9 block and crank, and possibly rods and pistons, with Allante 4.5 top end? The 4.5 and 4.9 have the same 92 mm bore but with strokes of 84 and 92 mm, respectively. I don't know about things like deck height, rod length, and piston pin postion so interchangability of rods and pistons is not something that I would speculate on. But this seems to be a very enconomical, do-able project, and very tempting if engine work was called for on any 4.1 or 4.9 Allante.

However, the ultimpate Allante is the 295 hp Northstar, available from the factory in the 1993-1994 model. Thus the ultimate feasible Allante project would seem to me to be the 4.2 liter blown Northstar engine, with its dedicted transmission, from the XLR-V or STS-V parts bin.