I'd be a whole lot more than disappointed! I'd be having some very stern words with the manager of the machine shop. Any shop that can't handle installing a set of Chevy cam bearings shouldn't be working on engines at all!
And BTW, it's been established for Eons that small block Chev V8 cam bearings can be used in the 60-degree V6.
I'll quote you some good info from the GM 60-degree V6 "bible",
How to Rebuild Your GM V-6 60 Degree Engine by Tom Currao:
Aside from excessive wear, the cam bearings will need to be replaced if you have the block hot-tanked, since hot-tanking destroys them. Replacing the bearings requires special tools and expertise, so save yourself time and money and have your machine shop do it. The shop will use a long rod with a plate screwed onto one end to drive out the old bearings and install new ones. As the new bearings are installed, attention is paid to the alignment of the bearing lube holes with the groove that runs around the perimeter of each cam bearings bore in the block.
<my boldface>
In some instances, this alignment is so far off that the shop has to install the wider cam bearings from a 350ci small-block Chevy, because these bearings are wider than the stock bearings and allow the shop to compensate for misalignment. However, because of the additional width, these bearings have to be precisely positioned to avoid contact with the cam lobes. Unless you're confident you can do this work yourself, it's better left to the pros.
Also, keep in mind that a new type of cam bearings is being used in later-model engines. Instead of the traditional babbit lining, the bearings have a very hard wear surface, similar to that of oilite. These bearings should offer longer service life along with decreased oil pressure loss due to wear. So if you're in the market for cam bearings, you should consider using this later-style design.
Granted this is from 1994, the use of aluminum-clad bearings is quite common nowadays and you should be using that type of bearing for cam, mains, and rods.
IDK if you sent the crankshaft off to the machine shop, but typically they'd use a micrometer set to measure the crank for worn journals, and also put the crank on a set of V-Blocks and do a runout with a dial indicator. If the crankshaft is still Standard, and the journals are nice n' smooth or clean up with a light polish to specifications, then all you need is a set of Standard bearings.
If the crank journals are in poor condition, then they'd be telling you how much undersize all the journals will have to be ground. Or you can just throw the old crankshaft at them as a core, and for a nominal fee they'll give you back a nice reground crank/bearing kit with all the appropriate-sized bearings included.
IDK about you, but I wouldn't have so much faith in the machine shop. I picked and chose all of my parts so I could control the quality.
When you assemble the crank into the block, you still need to use some Plasti-Gage Green to check oil clearances on the mains and rods. I'm assuming you don't have access to a micrometer set.
Another thing comes to mind, what are you doing with your rods? I had mine reconditioned and the machine shop pressed them onto new Sealed Power coated pistons. Not cheap but you know the rods are straight, and the big & little ends are the correct i.d.
I looked up a '94 Camaro 3400 and the main/rod bearings you'd want are the "A-Series". Rockauto is offering those in a Sealed Power and Mahle flavor. Both are quality brands. Enginetech also shows an aluminum-silicone bearing; they talk about that in the detailed description. These bearings will wear much better than babbit and they're far more resistant to corrosion from inadvertent coolant in the oil.
Here are some Sealed Power Bi-Metal aluminum cam bearings for a Chevy V8, I'm assuming something like those would be what you'd want:
Free Shipping - Sealed Power Cam Bearings with qualifying orders of $99. Shop Cam Bearings at Summit Racing.
www.summitracing.com
Rockauto (among many others, I'd assume) carries them, too.
HTH & G'luck at the machine shop.............ed
