99 L29/454 cam, reground by Delta for more good stuff

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DieselTech

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Definitely Gen VI based 496 stroker. Stock appearing + zero engine bay mods.
(No doubt I will follow L31MaxExpress's cooling system fan & clutch upgrade
recommendations, even though I'm currently having no cooling issues.)

But back to what I've currently got in the power barn. I'll probably jump right
to a 0411 upgrade, so that I can best match the computer to the reground cam.
(& also recover the missing power from the ultraconservative stock tune.)

So original Gen VI 454 short block + fresh heads + reground cam + better exhaust
+ 0411 computer. That is a given, and even if I never get to locate a quality 496
stroker short block stalled project for the right price, I'll still be plenty happy.

****

Thanks to the fact that the truck already exceeds requirements, I don't have to
swing for the fences. What can I say? Old guys like me need the simplest
possible solution, even if it doesn't achieve the max theoretical performance.

Don't need to be the fastest guy around. Just want to break the ton at the
dragstrip. And also have the nicest sounding 8-lugger chore truck so that my
grandsons can be picking up what their granddad is putting down. :0)

Reading between the lines, I'm hoping to leave a positive, fun-loving lasting
impression on them all.

Thanks for asking. Typing this out just helps to cement the project plan.

Cheers --
Sounds like solid build plans. I am sure it will make good power with a 0411 swap & a tune.

I am not sure what direction I will go. But I am thinking 100cc edelbrock aluminum heads, 9.0:1comp. Small Howard's roller cam, & roller rockers. Edelbrock rpm intake & holley sniper 2.
 

Road Trip

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Just remember when the time comes...pics or it didn't happen.

I will honor the official Triple Dog Dare of the GMT400 community. Consider it cheerfully accepted. :0)

I will do my very best to make the bib overalls, white hair, and sheet-eating grin match the
overall vibe of the 8-lugger chore truck. (See attached.) And will be sure to include time slips
so that we have incontrovertible proof that these old machines can still deliver on the promise. :0)

I may be looking at building a supercharged big block at some point in the foreseeable future.

A good supercharged system is a hoot to drive. Done right, that will make your vehicle feel
like it only weighs a 1000 lbs while charging up the onramp. Talk about feeling empowered.

Same pics requirement goes for you. I am always up for a nice build thread. Double if a supercharger is involved.

Man, this hotrod fever is contagious...
 

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Road Trip

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Sounds like solid build plans. I am sure it will make good power with a 0411 swap & a tune.

I am not sure what direction I will go. But I am thinking 100cc edelbrock aluminum heads, 9.0:1comp. Small Howard's roller cam, & roller rockers. Edelbrock rpm intake & holley sniper 2.

Like they say, if you don't address the bottleneck first, you won't get all the bang that your bucks paid for.

So those aluminum heads would be the bulls-eye of a TBI-era big block upgrade. I mean, with the stock TBI heads
isn't the compression ratio somewhere in the neighborhood of a high 7:1 ratio?

I just located the '88 Chevrolet truck Dealer Information Kit, and here's the data sheet for the '88 EFI L19 454:

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(Link to full .pdf file: '88 Chevrolet truck Dealer Information Kit )

7.9:1 compression? Wow. Emissions control engineering has come a long way over the past 37 years. (!)

So yeah, a modern design combustion chamber, higher compression, aluminum heads would make a
huge efficiency improvement, even tuned to continue to run on 87 octane gas. Once you modernize the
heads, all subsequent improvements will be building on a solid, deep breathing foundation.

I'm looking forward to how much additional power you will manage to extract from your big block TBI
engine bay.

And if you haven't downloaded a copy of the 155 page '88 Chevrolet C/K truch Dealer Info Kit you should do so.
Lots of neat info hidden inside, like the factory hp & torque curves plotted out above.

Best of luck.

Cheers -
 
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DieselTech

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Like they say, if you don't address the bottleneck first, you won't get all the bang that your bucks paid for.

So those aluminum heads would be the bulls-eye of a TBI-era big block upgrade. I mean, with the stock TBI heads
isn't the compression ratio somewhere in the neighborhood of a high 7:1 ratio?

I just located the '88 Chevrolet truck Dealer Information Kit, and here's the data sheet for the '88 EFI L19 454:

You must be registered for see images attach

(Link to full pdf file: '88 Chevrolet truck Dealer Information Kit )

7.9:1 compression? Wow. Emissions control engineering has come a long way over the past 37 years. (!)

So yeah, a modern design combustion chamber, higher compression, aluminum heads would make a
huge efficiency improvement, even tuned to continue to run on 87 octane gas. Once you modernize the
heads, all subsequent improvements will be building on a solid, deep breathing foundation.

I'm looking forward to how much additional power you will manage to extract from your big block TBI
engine bay.

And if you haven't downloaded a copy of the '88 Dealer Info Kit you should do so. Lots of neat
info hidden inside.

Best of luck.

Cheers -
Yeah most articles I have read say the tbi era 454 was 7.8:1CR with the 118-122cc peanut port heads.

If i run across a set of 96-2000 vortec 454 cylinder heads, I plan on trying them first. I have read the vortec 454 heads were 98-100cc combustion chamber heads.

So even a set of 454 vortec will wake up a tbi era 454 if the combustion chambers are truly 98-100cc.

I know my truck has had a long block installed at some point in its life, just by the stainless build tag epoxied to the block.

I think this is how I got lucky & ended up with a set of 336781 large oval port heads.

The mild big block i want to build will probably take me 5 years to afford all the parts I want.
 

Road Trip

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Yeah most articles I have read say the tbi era 454 was 7.8:1CR with the 118-122cc peanut port heads.

If i run across a set of 96-2000 vortec 454 cylinder heads, I plan on trying them first. I have read the vortec 454 heads were 98-100cc combustion chamber heads.

So even a set of 454 vortec will wake up a tbi era 454 if the combustion chambers are truly 98-100cc.

I know my truck has had a long block installed at some point in its life, just by the stainless build tag epoxied to the block.

I think this is how I got lucky & ended up with a set of 336781 large oval port heads.

Alright. I now have a much better feel for what's currently in your engine bay. As well as
where you would like to end up at some point in the future. From over here it looks well
thought out and should definitely improve the GPM (Grins Per Mile) quotient behind the wheel. :0)

The mild big block i want to build will probably take me 5 years to afford all the parts I want.

Sir, your plan of attack is the best way to eventually ending up at the project finish line without a wallet full of maxed out credit cards.
In other words, being able to enjoy the fruit of your planning/execution right away...without the joy being squelched by financial stress.

Needless to say, your 5 year plan will still be way more affordable than taking on 60 months of supersized new truck payments at the local dealership.
Driving different is not only more fun, but done right can be much more sensical financially. I applaud your thought process.
 
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Supercharged111

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There's nothing like big block power, eh? Well there kinda is. A TBI 350 has a similar powerband, i.e. there's nothing upstairs. If you really want this thing to put a smile on your face at least ditch the factory intake manifold so the engine will rev out to 5000+ because it wants to. The heads are going to be the next biggest bottleneck if that matters. Even then a 1 step above stock cam with heads and intake isn't gonna turn heads in a pickup truck. You wanna do that you need to add boost. That said I'm still happy with the plow truck, I bought it to do 8 lug stuff not go fast and it does work just fine.
 

DieselTech

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There's nothing like big block power, eh? Well there kinda is. A TBI 350 has a similar powerband, i.e. there's nothing upstairs. If you really want this thing to put a smile on your face at least ditch the factory intake manifold so the engine will rev out to 5000+ because it wants to. The heads are going to be the next biggest bottleneck if that matters. Even then a 1 step above stock cam with heads and intake isn't gonna turn heads in a pickup truck. You wanna do that you need to add boost. That said I'm still happy with the plow truck, I bought it to do 8 lug stuff not go fast and it does work just fine.
If I am ever rich. I will try a tbi procharger kit.
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Road Trip

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I did not have Road Trip hot rod 454 and also there is a Cobra on my 2025 gmt400 bingo card but I am here for it.

Most days I am successful in shielding the 'endless teenager area of my mind' from public view.
(Sometimes I feel like the retirement age poster child for arrested development, motorhead style. :0)

Obviously finding a reground OEM cam on offer that will augment a cylinder head refresh flipped my bits
& caused my inner teenager to start an impromptu bench racing session in public last night.

After sleeping on it & now rereading what I wrote I am reminded of the following:
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." :0)

Simply put, endless teenager Road Trip believes that I deserve to spend my retirement in a ride like this:

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Meanwhile, teathered to reality Road Trip realizes that this simply ain't gonna happen. Alas, I must admire this from a distance.

But thanks to a $3K price of admission (including fresh tires) I have the opportunity to take the Indigo Blue RCLB
seen in reply #13 and brew up a low observable chore truck version of a 454 SS. (8-lugger Super Sleeper edition)

Given that my champagne taste always exceeds my plain seltzer budget, this seems like my best plan of attack.

And the more I think about it, the chore truck is actually a better answer for my specific situation.

First and foremost, to be perfectly candid I would have a hard time encouraging my 3 grandsons to climb all over
that Black Beauty above. But I can absolutely see them playing in and/or using the bed of the chore truck to get things
done -- just like I was taught to do as a kid growing up in the greater DFW area back in the late '60s.

And leading by example, teach them that you own the truck, instead of the truck owning you. And how it's better to figure
out how to enjoy getting some work done during the day with a chore truck, as opposed to suffering through a truckless workday
and having to wait until evening in order to enjoy a perfect truck while making a celebratory ice cream run.

I know that the above may seem like stating the obvious, but as I run my errands in the city, all I see is increasing amounts
of kids glued to their screens & taking a passive 2D trajectory through life. My hope is to persuade my grandsons that accomplishing
real things in the real world is 100x more rewarding than just screening their way through the day.

If I'm successful with this covert sales job...then I think in turn that they will also be more self-reliant, successful interacting with
others, and along the way get to enjoy the Sense of Accomplishment as well. Simple stuff maybe, but well worth passing on.

****

Apologies for the philosophical rant. But I'm realizing more & more that making sure my grandsons remember me the same way
that I remember my Great Uncle Hank is both highly motivational & provides the positive tension I need to succeed.

Last but not least, I've attached a couple of photos from a friend's stalled project that you might be able to relate to.

****

The bottom line is that it's all about keeping this meter as far to the right as humanly possible:


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