Bowtie Brody's Namesake 96 454

[Christian Steffen]

Is there any upgrade to be done ignition wise? There's gotta be something out there that adds a little pep?
And I thought Dave had a Walbro pump installed in the black truck? I could've sworn I saw it somewhere in his thread;



I was looking at Hedman TBI headers, but honestly now I'm pretty well sold on the Gibsons because I can't find anything on the Hookers; and it's got 163K but the trans fluid looks a little dark, I'll double check it again to be sure.
I was gonna have my buddy weld the system out of the truck, then remove all the stock garbage and install the new; it'll be down pipes/cats to a flange, flange to 3" intermediate pipes and an H-pipe, V-band to a set of Magnaflow mufflers, then ball/socket flange to 3" tail pipes and then turned out behind the tires with 3.5" tips.

I'm hoping with the 0411 and a decent tune, full exhaust, good ignition system, Amsoil synthetic all throughout the drive-train that I can squeak the truck to a high 13 MPG, I get 9-10.5 now on a Black Bear tune, and mostly stock exhaust, it's got a Jones muffler and 2.5 in dual tail pipes out the back now.

Supercharged is right, the stock ignition is fine. Just make sure you plugs/wires/cap/rotor are in good condition.

I think you'll be happier with the gibson headers, and I'm sure you'll be happy with better exhaust.

What gears do you have? You're also running 285s right?

 

[BNielsen]

Supercharged is right, the stock ignition is fine. Just make sure you plugs/wires/cap/rotor are in good condition.

I think you'll be happier with the gibson headers, and I'm sure you'll be happy with better exhaust.

What gears do you have? You're also running 285s right?

I'll at least replace the distributor shaft, it's probably a little worn down, and clean the cap and rotor.

I'm running 285s with 3.73 gearing,

 

[Christian Steffen]

I'll at least replace the distributor shaft, it's probably a little worn down, and clean the cap and rotor.

I'm running 285s with 3.73 gearing,

Well, you can probably get a little more mileage, but 13 may be a bit high with 285s and 373s. If I drive 65 ish I can get 14-15 but that's on 265s with 4.10s.

What kinda driving are you seeing that mileage at?

 

[Mangonesailor]

I'll at least replace the distributor shaft, it's probably a little worn down, and clean the cap and rotor.

I'd get a new billet unit with an MSD cap/rotor (USE LOCTITE ON THE ROTOR SCREWS!). It's a bit of work to replace the shaft when you can do the whole thing and have a sturdier assembly. Plus, who knows if your drive gear has worn down enough already to cause you some problems.

I thought @88GMCtruck had done some stuff to his ignition, but it's been a while since I've been in his thread.

One thing I would be sure to do is close your spark plug gap. You don't need to be running .060". I'm not sure if I've gone over it with you yet, but most other 454 guys are going with .045-.050".

You and I really need to get together after you get your 0411 and look at each other's trucks.

 

[88GMCtruck]

I'd get a new billet unit with an MSD cap/rotor (USE LOCTITE ON THE ROTOR SCREWS!). It's a bit of work to replace the shaft when you can do the whole thing and have a sturdier assembly. Plus, who knows if your drive gear has worn down enough already to cause you some problems.

I thought @88GMCtruck had done some stuff to his ignition, but it's been a while since I've been in his thread.

One thing I would be sure to do is close your spark plug gap. You don't need to be running .060". I'm not sure if I've gone over it with you yet, but most other 454 guys are going with .045-.050".

You and I really need to get together after you get your 0411 and look at each other's trucks.

I did the MSD billet dist. Screws backed out of the rotor, the screws MSD installed. that sucked had to tow it home. It's a nice unit though. I'd highly recommend it

 

[Supercharged111]

How was it for misfires? My biggest fear is a ****** ass cam sensor and crappy sensor window thingy with aftermarket.

 

[BNielsen]

I'd get a new billet unit with an MSD cap/rotor (USE LOCTITE ON THE ROTOR SCREWS!). It's a bit of work to replace the shaft when you can do the whole thing and have a sturdier assembly. Plus, who knows if your drive gear has worn down enough already to cause you some problems.

I thought @88GMCtruck had done some stuff to his ignition, but it's been a while since I've been in his thread.

One thing I would be sure to do is close your spark plug gap. You don't need to be running .060". I'm not sure if I've gone over it with you yet, but most other 454 guys are going with .045-.050".

You and I really need to get together after you get your 0411 and look at each other's trucks.

I'm running plugs gapped at .45, as per some of the basic information I took away from the 454 thread on FSC.
Yeah; definitely need to figure something out, there's a few other members I would like to meet up with as well, I know I might have @Stepside_fever95 give me a hand with the 0411 if something goes south.
And 10-4 on the rotor screws, my dad's dually had them back off pulling our camper down the interstate on the other side of Charlotte; had to have the whole circus loaded onto a rollback and towed home.

Well, you can probably get a little more mileage, but 13 may be a bit high with 285s and 373s. If I drive 65 ish I can get 14-15 but that's on 265s with 4.10s.

What kinda driving are you seeing that mileage at?

I mainly run at 50-60 around most roads around here, maybe 65% of my driving is at that; and the other 35% is 35-45. Not much stop and go either.
When I brought the truck home running 70 on the interstate on 245s I managed to hit 14, and that was with garbage injectors, a worn, cracked, and almost dead cap and rotor, and a ****** restrictive exhaust.

 

[BNielsen]

I did the MSD billet dist. Screws backed out of the rotor, the screws MSD installed. that sucked had to tow it home. It's a nice unit though. I'd highly recommend it

I was thinking the Performance Distributors kit because I've seen tons of mixed reviews on MSD ignition gear for 88-98 TBI/Vortec trucks; and were you running an upgraded pump in the Black Fox or the 88? I swear I remember reading something in one of your threads about it when I first joined.

 

[Christian Steffen]

I'm running plugs gapped at .45, as per some of the basic information I took away from the 454 thread on FSC.
Yeah; definitely need to figure something out, there's a few other members I would like to meet up with as well, I know I might have @Stepside_fever95 give me a hand with the 0411 if something goes south.
And 10-4 on the rotor screws, my dad's dually had them back off pulling our camper down the interstate on the other side of Charlotte; had to have the whole circus loaded onto a rollback and towed home.



I mainly run at 50-60 around most roads around here, maybe 65% of my driving is at that; and the other 35% is 35-45. Not much stop and go either.
When I brought the truck home running 70 on the interstate on 245s I managed to hit 14, and that was with garbage injectors, a worn, cracked, and almost dead cap and rotor, and a ****** restrictive exhaust.

What do you see for rpms when running 50-60? Is it in 4th, tcc locked up? 9-10 seems low for a 2500 but like I said the 285s aren't helping, that's a fair size tire for 373s.

Are you babying it to get 9-10 or is that spirited driving? If I'm in a hurry to get places, I drop a few mpgs; to get into the 14s I have to drive quite nicely out on the highway. Daily driving type stuff I see 12.5-13.5 if I baby it, but I'm guessing I could get that closer to 10 if I drove it hard.

 

[88GMCtruck]

How was it for misfires? My biggest fear is a ****** ass cam sensor and crappy sensor window thingy with aftermarket.

Never had any issues with the MSD unit. It's 100% like the OEM just metal instead of plastic.

I mainly run at 50-60 around most roads around here, maybe 65% of my driving is at that; and the other 35% is 35-45. Not much stop and go either.
When I brought the truck home running 70 on the interstate on 245s I managed to hit 14, and that was with garbage injectors, a worn, cracked, and almost dead cap and rotor, and a ****** restrictive exhaust.

Prior to the supercharger, with the truck in tip top shape on the stock black box I was able to get 14 MPG on long trips if I kept it under 65. After with the supercharger I had to really try but I could get 12. That is all unloaded. 255/85R16s and 3.73s. But i'm a NV4500 so no Torque converter.

Loaded MPG was a whole different story.

I was thinking the Performance Distributors kit because I've seen tons of mixed reviews on MSD ignition gear for 88-98 TBI/Vortec trucks; and were you running an upgraded pump in the Black Fox or the 88? I swear I remember reading something in one of your threads about it when I first joined.

Nope, just a brand new AC Delco unit.