454 identification

['63GENIII]

Not sure about that one but I do know that the factory one does make a bunch of torque.

[skymangs]

cool, that's what I need , lots of torque!

[skymangs]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

They're roller motors to begin with. Both the L29 and L21 have the same small cam and I've heard the same heads. The ones with the fast burn thing in the cylinder and the ski jump in the intake port. Coil per cylinder is good and I think that you can run the newer 0411 PCM instead of the black box that came before. Black box is a little limited for tuning. Ive heard that you will find H2O easily when trying to port the ski jump out and was advised to not mess with the sharp "fast burn" thing in the cylinder either. I have never heard it ping even though it drinks the cheap stuff whether towing or not.

Both are 4 bolt blocks with the L21 having some forged goodies inside.

Mine had supposedly had 80k on it when I got it and it looked like it had been pulled out of the bottom of a tar pit. The machinist said that it showed little wear, honed it, polished the crank, gave me the std. bearing, rings and gaskets and she has been running great since.

They're not super popular or common but a few members here including myself have had pretty good luck with the L29 and the 8.1. Cant remember if Ive seen anyone with the L21 though.

I still have to get it tuned for the injectors and cam but even on the "safe" break in tune, it pulls like a freight train. Doesn't wind up much but pretty sure that's the tune limiting it at this point.

8.1 would be real cool but 400 for an injected BB that has pretty good potential power and drivability isn't to be scoffed at either! I really like mine.

What did you do with that tube that connects to the driver side exhaust manifold?

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by skymangs

What did you do with that tube that connects to the driver side exhaust manifold?

Pretty sure I threw mine away. Lol.

I'm running headers so no EGR. I took the valve off of the manifold, separated the mounting plate and used it as a block off plate. Also need to tune for it not being there.

[skymangs]

But how did you plug the hole for the tube in the intake? Also are you saying I can use the red/biue gen III PCM?

[57taskforce]

https://route66mods.com/product/3pc-...vy-vortec-cpi/

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by skymangs

But how did you plug the hole for the tube in the intake? Also are you saying I can use the red/biue gen III PCM?

Just cut a piece of thick black fiber gasket and clamped it on with the baseplate. Not very finished looking but functional.

The PCM is the one that came with the truck. Only ever heard it called the "black box" PCM. The original intent was to run the black box til it was broken in then re pin the connectors and run the 0411 PCM which supposedly allows better data logging.

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

https://route66mods.com/product/3pc-...vy-vortec-cpi/

Like this one skymangs. If you take the actuator off of the base, this is kinda what you'll end up with. Except this one looks way nicer!

[skymangs]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

Just cut a piece of thick black fiber gasket and clamped it on with the baseplate. Not very finished looking but functional.

The PCM is the one that came with the truck. Only ever heard it called the "black box" PCM. The original intent was to run the black box til it was broken in then re pin the connectors and run the 0411 PCM which supposedly allows better data logging.



Like this one skymangs. If you take the actuator off of the base, this is kinda what you'll end up with. Except this one looks way nicer!

so you’re saying that all the sensors are the same and all I have to do is repin to the o411 red/blue connecters. Do I need to have the PCM reprogrammed for stand alone operation?

['63GENIII]

Sorry for the lag in getting back to you.

As far as the PCM, you can run the Black Box that it came with. They can be programmed for stand alone just like the 0411 but I think that to really get it "tailored" to your particular modifications, it needs to be "live tuned" by someone who knows how.

I got my original harness built and Black Box programmed by Howell. I had it set up for a 4L80E, EGR and VATS removed. PCM under the hood. Stock cam and injectors.

Years went by. I did more research and decided on the cam and bigger injectors. The change to manual transmission and moving the PCM under the glove box were kind of an afterthought too. The harness I was able to deal with. It basically meant that the wires had to be pretty much reversed, shortened and lengthened and put though a bulk head grommet in the firewall and snaked behind the heater ducting.

The PCM was a little different deal as I don't know the first thing about computers. In the years that passed, I had found guy in SoCal by the name of Justin from Black Bear Tuning who offered a kind of mail order tuning. I sent him the black box, gave him all of the engine specs and asked him to make changes for the transmission, EGR and VATS. I asked for a basic break in tune with the plan of making it to one of his live tune days in the future.

To date, I haven't made it to a live tune day.

Since then, I have found that the connectors can be re pinned for the 0411 style PCM which supports data logging. Black Bear used to offer a service where he would mail a laptop which you would plug into your OBDII port, drive around for a set amount of time and then send your PCM along with the laptop back to Justin and he would give you back a tune that was as good as a live tune.

I think things have come a long way since this was on the front burner for mean I was up to date with the tuning. Im still running around breaking motor mounts on a close to stock tune, driving the truck daily for the last year+. Seems to run fine although Im sure there's still some left on the table.

Pretty sure that near anyone with decent computer skills can get open source tuning software these days and tune their own just like a carb. Seems as there are more folks that are around that offer tuning services these days as well.

So, to make a long story longer, no you don't need the 0411 to run the L29. The black box will do fine. However, the 0411 will allow the use of the different reluctor to run coil per cylinder and is likely easier to tune. Necessary? No. Nice to have? Sure, why not if you can utilize the additional functions.

[skymangs]

I have a good friend Brendan who runs LT1swaps.com who does all my tuning. My engine is an L21, so it already has coil packs. Do I still need a different reluctor? I didn’t get a harness or computer, so I am looking for a source for them. What cam and springs did you go with?

[skymangs]

Also I understand those peanut heads are junk

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by skymangs

Also I understand those peanut heads are junk

They are not "junk". They are heads that are built for low end. Junk on a big block usually refers to a head that will not flow past 4-5k. You want torque, you want a smaller port which gives you a faster velocity at a lower rpm. I've got big blocks in everything 'cept my suburban. Very rarely do I have to spin those past 4k. My power band is from about 1000-3800. My peak torque is about 2600 rpm---at that rpm my truck feels like it will pull a freight train with a 650 cfm carb

[skymangs]

so the heads are OK, good to know. Just cam springs and injectors

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by skymangs

I have a good friend Brendan who runs LT1swaps.com who does all my tuning. My engine is an L21, so it already has coil packs. Do I still need a different reluctor? I didn’t get a harness or computer, so I am looking for a source for them. What cam and springs did you go with?

I think that there are a bunch of people making the harnesses and flashing PCMs these days. Like I said, I went through Howell initially. No complaints.

[skymangs]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

I think that there are a bunch of people making the harnesses and flashing PCMs these days. Like I said, I went through Howell initially. No complaints.

OK, thanks man! I’ll look into it.