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.

Thoughts on building 1998 454

Upstate

Upstate

1/2 ton status
- In Memoriam -
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Posts
951
Reaction score
32
Location
New York
I have a good chance on buying at a reasonable price a high mileage complete truck with a 454 / 4l80 combo. Any input on the 1998 454 as far as interchanging BBC parts and capabilities? Motor and tranny run excellent.


Thanks
 
Do it!!! The 96 up (gen 6) big blocks work well, have factory roller cams, decent heads, way strong bottom ends etc. Mark IV heads bolt on with no head gasket issues like the gen 5s had. They still have non-adjustable valve train like the gen 5s, but can be converted if necessary.

The PCMs work ok on the 98-00 if you want to keep the EFI and 4l80, or it's fairly straight forward to go to the later LS computer for better support.
 
I have a MSD Atomic that I would use. Any issues with aftermarket intakes?
 
The motor has 260K on it but runs excellent and no smoke. $900 for the whole truck. Thoughts?
 
Upstate said:
The motor has 260K on it but runs excellent and no smoke. $900 for the whole truck. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It's not in your driveway because??????????????:D:thumb:


I've pulled apart 300k plus big blocks that that weren't maintained that well and found minimal wear, simply re-ringed and re-bearinged them and they went another 100k before the customer sold them still running.
 
I'm in the process of doing this. The L29 platform seems to be great. I am hearing about the injectors leaking though... Anyone having This issue?
 
Super Chevy magazine is doing a series of articles showing how strong the stock L29 454 is. In the first article, they put a Holley carb on it with a mild nitrous kit. It made 500hp with nitrous. Then they did a cam swap and some head work. Within the next couple months, they will be throwing boost at it. This is all on the stock pistons, rods, crank, rod and main bearings. Its a very stout engine for not being a Chevy Performance crate engine. The whole series of articles is also showing what can be done with the engine on a budget.

Scott
 
I am also in the early stages of building a 97' 454. Mine was only the short block so no factory fuel injection. I am learning what will interchange with the old Mark IV and what won't. The roller cam is a plus along with the 4 bolt mains. I will be going with a carb and getting a set of aftermarket aluminium heads for it. I will be following this thread as well.
 
TDAWG1 said:
I'm in the process of doing this. The L29 platform seems to be great. I am hearing about the injectors leaking though... Anyone having This issue?
Click to expand...

I have a 1996 K2500 with the L29 7.4l 454. I had to finally replace my factory injectors at 170,000+ miles on them. I now only have about 182,000+ on the truck but no problems so far. After doing some reading, it's a pretty common problem, and the other problem is they are pretty expensive, even just for factory replacements. If you get the upgrades (I think they are Bosch) they are really expensive. My motor is 100% stock so I just went with factory upgrades and called it good. Most people change the fuel pressure regulator while you have the plenum (spel?) off since it's right there on the back of the motor next to the injectors. It's worth it to do both at the same time if you are doing it. But to be honest it's not a horrible job.

I have loved my L29 truck. My only problem is the truck is just an extended cab with no door access to the back and I just had my third kid. That's why I just purcahased a 1989 V3500 crew cab that I am going to build into my new tow rig. A part of me wants someone to hit me in my current truck so I can take the money and the motor and swap it into my crew cab, haha. But as of now I am looking for an 8.1 to drop into it. But I think these L29's are sweet motors that with just a little fine tuning can produce a lot.
 
Kay86K5 said:
I have a 1996 K2500 with the L29 7.4l 454. I had to finally replace my factory injectors at 170,000+ miles on them. I now only have about 182,000+ on the truck but no problems so far. After doing some reading, it's a pretty common problem, and the other problem is they are pretty expensive, even just for factory replacements. If you get the upgrades (I think they are Bosch) they are really expensive. My motor is 100% stock so I just went with factory upgrades and called it good. Most people change the fuel pressure regulator while you have the plenum (spel?) off since it's right there on the back of the motor next to the injectors. It's worth it to do both at the same time if you are doing it. But to be honest it's not a horrible job.

I have loved my L29 truck. My only problem is the truck is just an extended cab with no door access to the back and I just had my third kid. That's why I just purcahased a 1989 V3500 crew cab that I am going to build into my new tow rig. A part of me wants someone to hit me in my current truck so I can take the money and the motor and swap it into my crew cab, haha. But as of now I am looking for an 8.1 to drop into it. But I think these L29's are sweet motors that with just a little fine tuning can produce a lot.
Click to expand...
Thanx for the info
 
Glad I came across this old thread. I have a 96' 454 I could not decide if I wanted to rebuild or just pop for a turnkey motor. Think I'm going to go thru this complete motor and upgrade the harness to LS setup. It's going in my 73' so it's all smog exempt. Going to get built for sure.
 
does anyone know of any headers you can use with the L29 engine with a NV4500 with an external slave cylinder? I am doing this swap once I return.
 
@Capt Ron might know something. He went 8.1 with the 4500, think he has factory manifolds
 
I'm running a set of Sanderson shorties on my Blazer, they fit great and plenty of clearance for the external slave on my SM465.

That said, other members here have had fitment issues with the same headers.
 
nvrenuf said:
I'm running a set of Sanderson shorties on my Blazer, they fit great and plenty of clearance for the external slave on my SM465.

That said, other members here have had fitment issues with the same headers.
Click to expand...
do you know what model they are? are those for big blocks?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom