What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

"The white truck" My 89 V3500 **DRIVING IT

Overview Gallery Discussion
82355 said:
Do you have the TBI intake, or the carbureted intake with adapter?

Martin
Click to expand...

It's a TBI intake as far as I know. Stock for 89.

beags86 said:
I pull 15 MPG's with my TBI big block/w/overdrive/4.10/33's unloaded at 55...its not a crew though...or lifted...
10 loaded or a trailer....

10-11 isn't an unreasonable goal.

I would spend money on an overdrive. Then maybe improved intake/decent exhaust.

I was getting 13 on the highway, I ditched the cats and went true duals it bumped to 15..
Click to expand...

Well the NV4500 swap along with the 12V is in the future plans. The truck rarely gets operated over 60 MPH right now and 4.11s with 33s I am not even sure it'd hold that speed in OD.

Current exhaust is manifolds, single 3" no cats.
 
Personally, I would do all the usual tbi mods, do headers, aftermarket intake, high quality ignition components, and a chip. Also, call me crazy, but I would do dual 2.5" exhaust WITH cats, an H pipe, and some free flowing mufflers like magna flows.
 
Yeah I was already planning on buying the velocity stack and pod spacer for the TBI and possibly headers.

Are there any heads that are a factory bolt on type deal that came on the later 454s? I was thinking along those lines. It has a lifter tick so not sure if one is stuck or bad. I know it has a Comp Cam in it, but I am not near the paperwork right now.
 
I debated on this for weeks before my build. I ended up using a complete Vortec short block, and buying a traditional oval port carb intake with a spacer for my ported and modified TBI unit. Buying a TBI only intake in my mind is an expensive sort of useless piece of aluminum, especially when dual plane oval port intakes are a dime a dozen.

That being said, my swap was simple, cheap, and easily out preforms even tuned up and modded TBI motors all day. But it did require pulling the engine and so on as well. I think this is the most cost economical, and HP per $ worth it to do it this route. You get the more modern head, which is nice that its a standard oval port, and a roller cam. After driving both for a time, the roller cam makes a world of difference in both power, and fun to driveness. Mine now is quite the tire burner for what I have in it and what it is.

Vortec style heads are non adjustable valvetrain, I ran into that problem as well. I ended up finding the correct ARP studs that convert it from whatever the head thread is to a standard BB 7/16s rocker arm nut, and bought roller rockers at the same swap meet. So now I am ready for a cam swap.
 
Ok cool thanks for the info. I spent several hours on tbichips and summit the other night reading the builds and writing down parts and prices.

The SS454 build on the site is interesting and the dyno sheet shows stock chip with heads/cam/intake. I priced out the stuff on Summit for the Edelbrock TBI intake, heads, cam and 1.7 rockers along with the fuel pressure regulator, velocity stack, pod spacer and it came to $3600. Little more than I would like to spend, but the heads are half that and that's with a flat tappet cam instead of the roller too.

Breck did you buy your short block used?
 
Yes, I paid 300$ for mine, a 99 454 block. It was a complete short block with a spun bearing. I ended up putting a crank in it, and machining the one rod down to use a factory bearing. Then balanced the assembly again. It had 50k on it, but I put all new bearings and rings in it.
 
Marty thinks I need to post here. I had a crate 454 that was a peanut port that I added a 204 214 cam, weiand street warrior and headers too and it made 500ftlbs and made 360hp @ 3950 with no compression and really was an awesome runner in my k30 with 37s. Eventually it made 490hp and 950ftlbs on LPG with 12 psi. If it was me I would build a 454 with large ovals of the 049 781 casting, bump pistons to get it to 9ish to one (flat tops will be under 8) use a performer rpm intake or any other true large oval intake and the TBI adapter and add headers. For the TBI I would raise the injector pod,port off the ridge at the top of the bores, and think about thinning the shaft. I would get a wide band and use fuel pressure to set the wot a/f ratio. Be sure to do the 4.3 heated o2 sensor mod and use long tubes. 12-13 shouldn't be hard if you are smart enough to know that it needs to stay stock height and turn about 1800 at 65 or do. Frontal area and lifts kill these trucks. FYI my 8.1 only gets 10 if I drive faster than 65. But it will pull my parachute of a rock crawler on my car trailer at 80+.
 
For a cam, not sure at 650 cfm the TBI runs out of air at 5500 at 90% volumetric efficiency and 6000 at 85%. I gave a buddy a stock vortec 454 cam to use in a peanut port TBI engine but he doesn't have it running yet. I would look for an aftermarket cam that is 1500-5500.
 
Breck I searched around for the Vortec stuff and didn't see anything locally. A short block with no heads remanned is 2k. Definitely not in the budget for such a small gain. Vortec 7.4 was still under 300hp/400tq correct? :dunno:

Here are a few things I compiled while reading the other night.

Intake
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-3764

Heads
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-60499

Cam kit
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-k11-302-4/overview/make/chevrolet

1.7 Rockers, the TBI salad bowl and pod spacer, fuel regulator, heated 02.

Comments? Suggestions? I am really a fish out of water when it comes to engine components.
 
You can install a gen 6 roller can in a mark iv by just using retrofit roller lifters and the gen 6 timing chain and retainer plate. That intake is OK but it is just an alum copy of the 95 gm intake which is peanut port. I guess I am dumb enough to just have my local chassis dyno operator burn me chips. Of course he is also one of my best friends.
 
FYI the vortec 454 heads are pretty meh, they have a nice chamber but flow pretty poor compared to the 049/781. My gen 6 in my k30 I sold off the vortec heads and installed 781s. The rocker studs are the better adjustable and they bolt right up.
 
If you are thinking those heads to bump the compression you can use early oval ports from a 396 that have 98cc chambers to bump the compression. Much cheaper castings 702 390 are the smallest with 290,215 063 about 3 CCS bigger.
 
80' 427 said:
If you are thinking those heads to bump the compression you can use early oval ports from a 396 that have 98cc chambers to bump the compression. Much cheaper castings 702 390 are the smallest with 290,215 063 about 3 CCS bigger.
Click to expand...

I really just picked those heads based off of my reading on different TBI forum pages assuming they flow well and I assumed they would bump the compression a little bit.

So the 702 or 390 would be a decent stock replacement option and then just find a large oval intake and the TBI adaptor for it?

82355 said:
I like poking at John until he writes stuff.

Martin
Click to expand...

:waytogo:
 
They are good heads and you could keep them small valve and they will run fine. The performer and TBI performer are both peanut port. You need a weiand street warrior in large oval or a performer rpm. If you use the stock TBI adapter you will need a qjet pattern.
 
Last edited:
I am sure a chip can be tuned to work properly but I do what I can with fuel pressure and changing the base timing to see how it will perform. TBI chips used to be pretty cheap for custom burned chips and had a lot of information. Remember the knock sensors are pretty dumb so things like roller rockers could add noise it thinks is detonation. I wouldn't waste too much money on them unless the cam is wild. Honestly I would stop worrying about HP and concentrate on low speed tq. It will allow better towing.
 
Ok. I looked around my local area Craigslists. I found a few sets of 781 heads, but none of the others.

I will look up a different intake with the large ovals.

For the ECU side I am pretty sold on the EBL from Dynamic EFI. $400 one time seems worth it to me.
 
I just bought the Edelbrock Performer RPM for my 402 in my 1975 Blazer.

Martin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom