Try this one. It is detailed enough and the pics are decent. If you follow along with it, you really cannot go wrong.

93-97 Camaro & Firebird OPTI Remove & Replace | Tech Aids & Articles

 

hay grandpaswagon thanks for the link. i have copied this post and created a thread and stuck it in this (lt1) section. if anyone has more good info on changing opti please post. here is a shield for the opti http://opti-shield.com

 

Question??? The back of the new Opti that I just got does not look like the one pictured in the article. The one I just got has only a splined dowel on the back with no index marks at all and appears perfectly symetrical and not oval as the article stated. How do I index the new opti correctly the first time since at this time the front of my motor is now virtually stripped and I probably shouldn't start it.

 

Answered my own question. A picture speaks a thousand words. You may find this a helpful addition to this thread. http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5369/9394opti.jpg I guess my eyes have more mileage than my Z28 because I needed to use a magnifying glass in order to see a tiny bead of weld in the top of one of the splines creating a keyway. The picture shows a pretty, clean and clearly machined surface. In reality, I think my description is probably the norm.