Novice seeking help (wiring/engine rebuild)

[PlayingWithTBI]

Your PCM, if stock location, should be behind the glove box on a shelf with a lot more wires than what's in your photo. That may be an aftermarket trans controller since back in the 80's/early 90's, they didn't have electronic controlled transmissions like the 4L80E.

 

[Schurkey]

I feel for you. Somebody went through a lot of effort to screw-up that vehicle.

The casting flash around the holes in the cylinder head is completely normal. If you think those are bad...you should see automotive iron castings from the '50s and '60s.

 

[Amsterdamned96]

Your PCM, if stock location, should be behind the glove box on a shelf with a lot more wires than what's in your photo. That may be an aftermarket trans controller since back in the 80's/early 90's, they didn't have electronic controlled transmissions like the 4L80E.

Right, from what I can tell the old PCM in the glovebox’s spot has been taken up by the ECU for the MPFI system & they’ve bolted the PCM to the wheel well in the engine bay.
It used to have this PCM (I recognise these connectors) they’re still present in the car but the cables have been cut.
I found this picture on google.

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[Amsterdamned96]

I feel for you. Somebody went through a lot of effort to screw-up that vehicle.

The casting flash around the holes in the cylinder head is completely normal. If you think those are bad...you should see automotive iron castings from the '50s and '60s.

I got the truck for free but it was seriously abused. It’s supposedly low mileage. I don’t know how easily people alter those things. I’ve read that a white dot/speck appears next to the numbers if it’s messed with.
The low mileage is the only good reason I have to believe the transmission is in any good shape.
Regarding the terrible wiring. I’m on the lookout for a stock 454 4L80E harness and considering buying a new EFI computer as well as TCU from Holley.
I’ve started repairing the wiring (a lot of burnt insulation and too many unecessary crimps) In the hopes that I can diagnose some of the problems with TunerPro. It’s taking me awhile to get used to working with this spaghetti monster but it might save me 1200$ that I can’t really afford to shell out right now.

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[CrustyJunker]

That is quite the spaghetti monster, but don't stress. As you decide your plans, we'll try to help as best as we can!

 

[Amsterdamned96]

That is quite the spaghetti monster, but don't stress. As you decide your plans, we'll try to help as best as we can!

As of now my plan is to save up a couple hundred euros so that I can purchase the tools, gaskets and bearings that I’ll be needing to put the engine back together nicely. This includes an extensive SAE socket set, a big block valve compression tool, a ridge reamer, a crank pulley removal tool as well as the attachment tool.

in addition to this, I’m keeping my eyes peeled on the web for the GM 480 series metri terminals as well as coloured wiring of 14AWG to 20AWG. All the sensors that go on the engine.

Lastly, I’m trying to spend a bit of time everyday reading other peoples threads. Needless to say there’s a lot of relevant information on the forum.
Thank you all for the plethora of knowledge you’ve provided so far. I’ll update this thread regularly with my progress.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I wouldn't bother with the ridge reamer. That's a 1970s tool for 1960s metallurgy. Our engines have better metal. You'll have some carbon buildup at the top of the cylinder, but you can scrape that off with a razor blade. You'll want a hone instead. The ball hones are okay, but the bar hones are better. There's plenty of videos out there on using a hone.

 

[Schurkey]

Ridge reamers are 1950s tech for 1940s-and-earler engines. It's just that they kept selling them into the modern era.

They're a fabulous way to destroy an engine block.

It's not so much that modern engines have "better metal", it's that they almost never run with overly-rich mixtures that wash the oil off the cylinder walls, and they have overdrive transmissions that drop cruise RPM. Pistons may use thinner rings, too.

All of that means less cylinder-wall friction which decreases cylinder wall wear dramatically.

 

[Amsterdamned96]

I wouldn't bother with the ridge reamer. That's a 1970s tool for 1960s metallurgy. Our engines have better metal. You'll have some carbon buildup at the top of the cylinder, but you can scrape that off with a razor blade. You'll want a hone instead. The ball hones are okay, but the bar hones are better. There's plenty of videos out there on using a hone.

Thanks for the advice, I’ll look into getting a bar hone when I order the harmonic balancer removal tool & 454 rebuild kit.

 

[Amsterdamned96]

Today I’m taking apart part of the dash & taking the steering column out. I’m hoping to remove my Clifford alarm without too much difficulty. Will most likely be posting an update later.