the pig rig?

[ericjon262]

a Vortec 8100 would be rad, but it has some significant downsides for me compared to the biggest is that almost nothing big block is compatible with it. IIRC, not even headers work, not that I'm trying to make monstrous power, but parts availability is also always a concern.

That's why you can just drop it in, leave it stock and enjoy 8.1 liters of fury.

Diesels are definitely cool, but be careful how many Duramax swaps you schedule for yourself
Big Blocks are pretty cool too.

Both are cool, but a Diesel with definitely go further on a single tank, and most likely pull alot better. my buddy's 7.3 powerstroke pulled the new Suburban like it wasn't there.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Maybe a feature request for Dynamic EFI?
Not being able to control a 4L80E seems pretty limiting for a system designed to install into hot rods.

That being said, if you invert one shift solenoid signal, then the solenoid tables are the same. The 4L80E has a PWM converter clutch solenoid, or something like that, but it'll run at 100% DC just fine.

[ericjon262]

Maybe a feature request for Dynamic EFI?
Not being able to control a 4L80E seems pretty limiting for a system designed to install into hot rods.

That being said, if you invert one shift solenoid signal, then the solenoid tables are the same. The 4L80E has a PWM converter clutch solenoid, or something like that, but it'll run at 100% DC just fine.

if the truck was a factory EFI truck, I would 100% be bugging Bob about it. The Flash II is a nice piece, but it's also a drop in replacement for a factory ECU, it's designed to allow you to keep the vehicle's stock harness and whatnot. I'm not sure I would call it something for hotrods. I will probably still get one for the OG Pig Rig though.

The other side of it, is that going OBD2 allow more future options, if I wanted, I could pick up a 6L90 and make it work with the 454, which would be a massive upgrade over the TH400, that being said, I think a 4L80E makes the most sense, performance per dollar aspect favors the 80e by a mile.

[ericjon262]

I make terrible decisions, but sometimes, you can't pass up a good deal....



I bought an LBZ Duramax

I'm not sure whether I'll use it as a mockup engine, or rebuild it, but the price was unbelievably good. For now, I still plan to do a quick rebuild on the 454 and driving it. I think the long term plan is to setup another chassis. with the DMAX, and then body swap onto the new chassis, or build a chassis from scratch, but I don't think I would go that route.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I make terrible decisions, but sometimes, you can't pass up a good deal....



I bought an LBZ Duramax

I'm not sure whether I'll use it as a mockup engine, or rebuild it, but the price was unbelievably good. For now, I still plan to do a quick rebuild on the 454 and driving it. I think the long term plan is to setup another chassis. with the DMAX, and then body swap onto the new chassis, or build a chassis from scratch, but I don't think I would go that route.

Now that I'm at a real screen and I can actually look closely...

Lots and lots of eck$pen$ive things missing from this photo. At least you have the CP3 high pressure pump, but no injectors, no FICM and no turbo.

No wonder it was cheap.

[Honest Don]

Maybe a feature request for Dynamic EFI?
Not being able to control a 4L80E seems pretty limiting for a system designed to install into hot rods.

That being said, if you invert one shift solenoid signal, then the solenoid tables are the same. The 4L80E has a PWM converter clutch solenoid, or something like that, but it'll run at 100% DC just fine.

75500592-C098-47A6-89B4-E18ADF795358.jpeg (72.78 KiB) Viewed 44612 times

[The Dark Side of Will]

if the truck was a factory EFI truck, I would 100% be bugging Bob about it. The Flash II is a nice piece, but it's also a drop in replacement for a factory ECU, it's designed to allow you to keep the vehicle's stock harness and whatnot. I'm not sure I would call it something for hotrods. I will probably still get one for the OG Pig Rig though.

The other side of it, is that going OBD2 allow more future options, if I wanted, I could pick up a 6L90 and make it work with the 454, which would be a massive upgrade over the TH400, that being said, I think a 4L80E makes the most sense, performance per dollar aspect favors the 80e by a mile.

There were certainly plenty of OBDI 4L80E's...

[ericjon262]

OBD1 4L80's most certainly existed, just not using the same ECU as the EBL used.

As far as the engine goes, the picture only tells part of the story, the largest part, the long block, was on a trailer, the rest of the parts are in my dad's truck, the engine was down by his place, so I sent him some cash to pick it up.

Right now, I'm looking into what interchanges between the duramax engine lines, I know where at least 2 complete LLY engines are that I can get parts off of if I am missing anything important. I plan to go pick the engine up from Florida next month, along with my Air compressor, and new seats for the Fiero, when I get it here I'll do a full inventory and start collecting stuff I don't have.

[ericjon262]

I picked up another 454... I'm stupid or something. the roller cam 454's don't have a fuel pump boss on the block, so I'll have to install an electric fuel pump, preferably in the tank. I'll need to verify the late model EFI sender works in the carb tank without issues. Since it's going to be EFI, I think I'm going to try and find a Vortec 454 intake, and do it MPFI instead of TBI. I can use a late model-ish PCM like my 2500 HD uses, and then the PCM and accelerator pedal would already be mounted for the duramax whenever that time comes. I've found a intake set for the engine, but I'd rather not pay $500+ for it, if one of you happens to see one in a you pull it, I'll pay for it and shipping, and beer!

[The Dark Side of Will]

I picked up another 454... I'm stupid or something. the roller cam 454's don't have a fuel pump boss on the block, so I'll have to install an electric fuel pump, preferably in the tank.

Ehhh... external pumps are a lot easier to replace when they fail. If you have a good location, I don't see a reason not to run an external electric pump.

I'll need to verify the late model EFI sender works in the carb tank without issues. Since it's going to be EFI, I think I'm going to try and find a Vortec 454 intake, and do it MPFI instead of TBI. I can use a late model-ish PCM like my 2500 HD uses, and then the PCM and accelerator pedal would already be mounted for the duramax whenever that time comes. I've found a intake set for the engine, but I'd rather not pay $500+ for it, if one of you happens to see one in a you pull it, I'll pay for it and shipping, and beer!

When did the 454's get the 24x crank wheel? Are any of your 454's compatible with that crank trigger?

[ericjon262]

I picked up another 454... I'm stupid or something. the roller cam 454's don't have a fuel pump boss on the block, so I'll have to install an electric fuel pump, preferably in the tank.

Ehhh... external pumps are a lot easier to replace when they fail. If you have a good location, I don't see a reason not to run an external electric pump.

I'll need to verify the late model EFI sender works in the carb tank without issues. Since it's going to be EFI, I think I'm going to try and find a Vortec 454 intake, and do it MPFI instead of TBI. I can use a late model-ish PCM like my 2500 HD uses, and then the PCM and accelerator pedal would already be mounted for the duramax whenever that time comes. I've found a intake set for the engine, but I'd rather not pay $500+ for it, if one of you happens to see one in a you pull it, I'll pay for it and shipping, and beer!

When did the 454's get the 24x crank wheel? Are any of your 454's compatible with that crank trigger?

only L21 454's did. Those also have forged cranks. I have an L21, an L29, and whatever the suburban came with.

as far as in tank vs external, I kinda prefer in tank, replacement is more difficult, but it's typically easier to find a factory replacement pump when they fail than a external, and they don't typically fail often. also I would have to find a way to add a return line, the late model sending unit mount the pump, and provides for a return. They're also available new still, so it makes sense to use them

[ericjon262]

I did a dumb thing and snagged this up cheap. it runs, and drives. Mechanically, it's a complete chassis, the body, or whats left of it is pretty junky. My current plan is to pull the cab and body off, shorten the wheelbase, put a stock suburban tank in the back, and then put the "new" suburban body on the new chassis. I have a few ideas I need to research, but I may rebuild the LBZ heads and turbo, and get a new set of injectors on standby for if/when the LB7's injectors fail.





I lined up the front wheels of the OG Pig with the new chassis donor.





you can see here the rear wheels of the donor are further back, I'll need to shorten the chassis to fit, or at least the wheelbase. it's making me rethink quadrasteer again, but I think that will be a longer term project.



I'm still planning on putting one of the 454's together, so I can get the truck driving, then once I move forward with the chassis swap, the OG Pig will get the 454.

[ericjon262]

when I got off work this morning, I spent some time taking apart the L21 454. I got the heads and oil pan off, and did a bunch of cleanup.

the valve covers and valley were both pretty clean, I think the underside of the valve covers was cleaned recently. the valley is clean with typical residue.







flat top pistons.



and now some of the ugly... looks like coolant and oil, interestingly, some oil came out of one of the galleries when I rotated the stand over, it wasn't nasty, which is a good sign. none of the rod bearings had noticeable play.



looks like the valve seals were failing, there were some small, soft pieces in the pan/pickup.





I had picked up a new oil pan the same day I picked the L21 up, I'm glad I did, this probably wouldn't fit in the truck.



there was a significant amount of nasty goop in the water jackets. I cleaned it out, and everything I can see looks good, I imagine this engine had dexcool in it, but this didn't look like the dexcool sludge I'd seen in the past.

The bores looked ok, a little glassy, but ok, no ring ridge. the engine supposedly had low compression on one cylinder, if that's the case, it would lead me to believe it's an issue with a head, or head gasket, and not the bottom end. I'll probably pop a main and rod cap tomorrow and make a more comprehensive assessment of the bottom end tomorrow.

[ericjon262]

I somehow didn't see this when I was messing with the engine the other night...



that explains "Low compression on one cylinder" kinda a bummer as this is a forged piston, and the other 454 has cast pistons. hopefully the other one has flat top pistons as well, this engine only has 9.4:1 compression from the factory, I would rather not go much lower than that.

I'm considering putting a cam in it, but it snowballs really quick doing that, as the stock valvetrain is non adjustable, and will require conversion studs, rocker nuts, and valve springs. it very quickly becomes a $600-700 ticket, I have heard that a cam makes a big difference in these engines though, even increasing fuel mileage a little bit. I wouldn't mind putting a set of tri-y headers on it as well, but that gets stupid expensive really quick.

I am going to start compiling a list of things I need/need to do to complete the chassis swap, my plan right now is to completely "restore" the DMAX chassis, even blasting and painting the frame. if anyone has frame measurements for either a 2004 Chevy Silverado, or for a 1986 Chevy Suburban, I'm very interested in them so that I can start working out a plan for the new body mounts.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnet-Paint-Co- ... 7428&psc=1

[The Dark Side of Will]

That just enthusiastic gas porting.

[ericjon262]

That just enthusiastic gas porting.

yeah, we can call it that... Right now, I plan to grab a ball deglazer (dingleball hone) run it down this block, and use the rods and pistons from the other block with this crank. we'll see how that changes when I pull both of them apart.

[ericjon262]

with the GMT 800 chassis, I want to make sure everything is 100% before I put the suburban body on it. at this point, I figured it would be in my best interest to start developing lists of things I need to make it 100%.

brake line+hose set
ball joint set
tierods
bushing set
rear leaf springs
rotors
calipers(inspect/clean+paint)
CV joints (inspect)
manual shift transfer case
Fuel tank?
---Stock Suburban- requires frame mods
---GMT800 Suburban- wrong side fill
---GMT800 truck- still wrong side fill
---"Titan tank" Aux tank- expensive as hell, fill point?
wheelbase shortened to match Suburban
Driveshaft
chassis paint
cooling stack

working on trying to find the best way to shorten the wheelbase, I stumbled upon GM uplift

https://www.gmupfitter.com/light-duty-v ... r-to-2013/

which has body manual documents for the GMT800 chassis, now I need to compare the chassis and see what changed between the wheelbases, and see if it's as simple as moving the spring perches forward and lopping the back of the frame off like we found for my buddy's J10 project. realistically, a suburban 2500 chassis would really be a better GMT 800 frame to start with, and the wheelbase is only about 1/2" different between it and the older 'burbs, but they're harder to find, and have several of the same problems that I will still have to deal with on the truck chassis.

I would really like to integrate as much of the GMT800 components as possible, which should make finding parts much easier.

[ericjon262]

I took apart the L21 454 that "lost compression" the crank looked ok, I may have it turned, or just polish it. the pistons on the other hand... someone ran nitrous on this thing, there's no other way you see this kind of devastation... I don't know how, but the bores are somehow ok still.

Every single top ring was in multiple pieces



The number 1 rod was bent



IDK what happened here:











hopefully the pistons and rods are ok out of the other engine. if they aren't, I'll re-evaluate what I need to do.

[ericjon262]

good news, the pistons from the other 454 look OK, bad news. looks like I'm out the $250 I spent on the "Vortec" EFI intake manifold. the guy "selling" it asked for me to use facebook pay instead of paypal, regrettably, I did, and he never sent the thing and won't respond to messages. I now know that facebook pay has no buyer protections like paypal, and there's pretty much nothing I can do but suck it up.

[Honest Don]

I took apart the L21 454 that "lost compression" the crank looked ok, I may have it turned, or just polish it. the pistons on the other hand... someone ran nitrous on this thing, there's no other way you see this kind of devastation... I don't know how, but the bores are somehow ok still.

Every single top ring was in multiple pieces



The number 1 rod was bent



IDK what happened here:











hopefully the pistons and rods are ok out of the other engine. if they aren't, I'll re-evaluate what I need to do.

Yikes!

facebook pay

That just sounds like a terrible idea...