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My New GM Goodwrench Crate Enine

1-ton

1-ton

3/4 ton status
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I bought a new GM Goodwrench crate engine for my 1991 V3500 (pn# 12568758). It is a 2-bolt main with 9.25:1 compression. This is the last of the TBI direct replacement engines that GM offers. All others have been discontinued.

I installed a COMP Computer Control 12-304-4 cam into it (205 Dur @ .50 / lift .406 / LSA 111.4). This is a mild cam, but it will increase duration by 40 degrees and lift by .20 thousands over the stock cam. I also had the stock TBI manifold bored out to 1.835 thousands of an inch to match the bored out TBI, which I bought from RV Morse.

I did some smaller mods to the engine as well like 5-qt oil pan, oil pump pick-up retaing bracket, and steel sleeved intermediate oil pump shaft. I am also doing some work to the 4L80E trans in this truck. I am replacing the torque converter, internal wiring harness, solonoids, and VSS sensors.

I will probobly start a biuld thread on this in the future with pics.
 
This is the truck the engine is going into by the way. I had to remove the entire front radiator support, in order to remove the engine because the truck is lifted so high no standard engine hoist would lift the engine up high enough to clear the radiator support. I also had to modify my transmission jack head, in order to get it to go high enough to reach the trans.

 
This truck has been out of service, and hiding in the back corner of my shop for close to 3-years. Now that I finaly got a new engine for it, it will be back on the road from time-to-time. I cannot go anywhere with out someone asking to buy this truck. I even had Danny from "Counting Cars" trying to hit me up on this truck at car show he was doing a meet-and-greet for his sponsors.
 
That's a sweet rig ,I curious how you are gonna like the cam and how it runs.
 
I love big truck Builds. I would love to see a crew cab sealed up like a suburban...:saweet:
 
What are you doing for a computer/ECM? Did you have one already?
 
Nice! I am obsessed with crew cabs since I picked mine up. Can't wait to get it back to my house and get my motor/tranny swap going!!! Please start a build thread
 
I picked the cam because I am using stock heads with press in rocker studs, and stock rocker arms, which have limited slot travel. I would have liked to go with the next step up in cam, but the lift is more than the stock heads can handle. The 12-304-4 COMP cam is a single pattern cam, wich lessens the vacuum fluctuation, and alows it to get away with a lobe seperation lower than 112 degrees. The 111 LSA is actually more desirable with a mild single pattern cam like this.
 
Mastiff said:
What are you doing for a computer/ECM? Did you have one already?
Click to expand...

I intend to do some custum tuning of my own. There is a company called "Moates" that sells a complete kit for about $350.00. It comes with the data cable, burner, and licensed copy of Tuner Pro RT. I am also going to send them my 6070 ECM, and have them solder in a ZIF socket for fast chip remaval and installation.

The modifications I am doing to this engine are mild enough not to need any crazy amount of tuning, but I think with the mods and tuning, I can get this 200 HP/300 FT. LBS rated engine to about 265HP and 380 FT. LBS torque at 4000 RPM.
 
Sounds like a good build! Moates is great. If you haven't burned chips before, pretty cool when you can see and feel your progress. :)

If you don't mind me asking, what pan did you end up using? What did you think of the quality?

Going to have to build up this Vortec block in my garage at some point, and would prefer a 5qt pan. Prefer to go with a known quantity vs. picking up a summitracing pan (or other) and finding out it's poorly made.
 
Cool. You might look into dynamicEFI. The guy mods GM ECMs with improved software and the ability to reprogram over USB. Made life much easier for me compared to burning chips. I started with some of the Moates stuff and I think this is a definite step up.

Does GM offer matching computers for their crate engines to make them "turn key"?
 
Mastiff said:
Cool. You might look into dynamicEFI. The guy mods GM ECMs with improved software and the ability to reprogram over USB. Made life much easier for me compared to burning chips. I started with some of the Moates stuff and I think this is a definite step up.

Does GM offer matching computers for their crate engines to make them "turn key"?
Click to expand...

I will look into dynamic EFI. I am pretty sure I have been to there web site before. I think Moates offers the same thing by modifing your ECM, which has a PROM mask that makes it easier to tune than the stock PROM mask.

The GM Goodwrench engine I bought had the exact same camshaft and compression my original engine had, thus the stock ECM would have worked fine. But since I modified the engine with a slightly bigger cam, and a bored out TBI, it is going to need a custom tune to get everything out of it. The only difference between the original V3500 1-ton engine and the Goodwrench engine I bought was 4-bolt main, and rotators on both intake and exhaust. The Goodwrench engine is only 2-bolt, with rotators only on the exhaust valves...in other words a 3/4 ton engine and not a full 1-ton engine.
 
dyeager535 said:
Sounds like a good build! Moates is great. If you haven't burned chips before, pretty cool when you can see and feel your progress. :)

If you don't mind me asking, what pan did you end up using? What did you think of the quality?

Going to have to build up this Vortec block in my garage at some point, and would prefer a 5qt pan. Prefer to go with a known quantity vs. picking up a summitracing pan (or other) and finding out it's poorly made.
Click to expand...

I just used an OE style 5-QT pan made by Dorman. Probably Chinese made. The fit was OK, but not as a good as a factory GM pan. GM no longer make a 5-QT OE style pan for 1-piece seal engines. Unless I wanted to go with a full drag race pan fom Milodon or any such...Dorman is the only choice there was. This Dorman pan is sold under a veriaty of names from Pioneer to Bal Kamp, but there all the same pan off the same Chinese assembly line.
 
You are correct, not much under $100 for one piece oil pans in the 5qt range. And from there it goes to kicked out pans.
 
Mastiff said:
Cool. You might look into dynamicEFI. The guy mods GM ECMs with improved software and the ability to reprogram over USB. Made life much easier for me compared to burning chips. I started with some of the Moates stuff and I think this is a definite step up.
Click to expand...

I looked into dynamicEFI, which is owned by a guy named Rob, and the EBL Flash system he has is definitly the SH!T. The only problem is that Rob does not currently have an EBL Flash version for ECM's, which have electronic transmission control...AKA PCM. I did see some posts from Rob, which are about a year old, where he said he was working on a version for ECM/PCM type modules. One way around this is to buy an older EBL Flashed ECM from dynamic...like a 7747, and piggy back it to the original ECM so the older 7747 ECM can control the engine, while the original ECM/PCM controls the trans. Also I could dump the original ECM/PCM all together, and only run the older EBL Flashed ECM, and buy an aftermarket stand-alone ECM system for the trans.
 
Years back when i bought a crate for the ex wifes 90 V2500 burb it was a 4 bolt as well. For warranty purposes i had to buy that engine and not the 1/2 ton 2 bolt main.
I am pretty sure Moates has the usb tune as you drive option. I bought some of his stuff a couple years back but never used it as i decided to go LSx. Very happy with my LSx swap.
 
have you checked out the DIY pnp from megasquirt?? Tons of options with the stock harness.. Cheaper too.
 
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