School me on 1985 454 tech.

[uglyscout]

I've never owned a Chevy, but now have a 1985 454 out of a 1 ton.

I'm planning to put it into my Scout and put fuel injection on it. I've done TBI swaps before so I know how that works -- but my question is what should I really do? Do I swap to TBI? Is there a better injection option?

I generally hate engine work - so I'd rather not tear the whole thing apart. I figure even in stock form it will make my current IH304 look like silly.

I've done some searching but I know so little about chevy stuff I get turned aound and sent down the wrong path and waste a ton of time. Are there intakes for my motor that are setup for TBI? I can bust out an adapter plate but I'm sure the aftermarket has it covered and probably claims to improve performance...

[BurbanFreek]

edelbrock makes a tbi intake and they make a aftermarket tbi set up. i know holley does also.

[Grumpy_old_fart]

GM made tbi's for 454s. its a factory setup.

I have a couple of the throttle bodies sitting on a shelf if you cant find one.

[trkklr77]

a factory setup has a piss poor hp output.

a cam, headers and a better fuel system and you will have a great runner.

[lt1yj]

The GM 454 TBI's have an adapter between the manifold and the TBI. This adapter allows you to use a stock quadrajet carb manifold and literally bolt the TBI on.

I also have two complete Vortec setups with harness and computers. These will bolt on to your setup also.

There isn't anything special about a 454 over a small block, just displacement. Any of the reputable aftermarket companies make a product that will work well on your rig.

The biggest issue you'll have is troubleshooting when there is a problem on the trail. With the TBI setup you can swap a carb on and run it. Not possible with the Vortec setups. Not sure on the aftermarket kits.

[nastys10]

im thinking that 85 454 has the peanut port heads that are worthless as can be if it where me id find a set of large oval ports off an older bbc and use them peanut ports for a boat anchor but id pull the casting # and make sure first. but then again idk what your plans for the rig are

[uglyscout]

Originally Posted by lt1yj

The GM 454 TBI's have an adapter between the manifold and the TBI. This adapter allows you to use a stock quadrajet carb manifold and literally bolt the TBI on.

So you'd guess that my '85 has the same intake as the '87 TBI units? That would make things easy. No point in changing the intake if the factory didn't do it....

I'm sure an aftermarket intake would make more HP - but that would be something I'd do down the road.

[Odin K30]

What are your plans for this engine?
As stated the peanut port heads are less than impressive for horsepower production.
But that engine stock IIRC puts out about 400 lb ft of torque.

[GMCTruxrule]

with the right cam, peanut port heads can work great for building low end torque.

My 454 is at the machine shop right now, I decided to dump the PP heads and use my 702 casting heads. Its gonna be a little more mid range power driven than my original set up.

[lt1yj]

The vortec heads are a good swap for good low end torque and good midrange power. They don't flow well enough for high RPM use but are much better than the peanut port heads. I believe there is a conversion gasket available so they can be used on the MarkIV's.

[lt1yj]

Originally Posted by uglyscout

So you'd guess that my '85 has the same intake as the '87 TBI units? That would make things easy. No point in changing the intake if the factory didn't do it....

I'm sure an aftermarket intake would make more HP - but that would be something I'd do down the road.

I have the intake from an '81 Qjet and an '87 TBI unit and they look identical. I never tried the TBI adapter base on the Qjet manifold to verify. I did run a Qjet on the TBI manifold and it bolted on fine.

[trkklr77]

Originally Posted by nastys10

im thinking that 85 454 has the peanut port heads that are worthless as can be if it where me id find a set of large oval ports off an older bbc and use them peanut ports for a boat anchor but id pull the casting # and make sure first. but then again idk what your plans for the rig are

peanuts can be used to make some power, bolts some large ovals on and it is a +50hp with no mods.

my 454 in my 4x4 has peanuts that were smoothed out and cleaned up, it does pretty good.

[uglyscout]

Originally Posted by Odin K30

What are your plans for this engine?
As stated the peanut port heads are less than impressive for horsepower production.
But that engine stock IIRC puts out about 400 lb ft of torque.

The plan is to stuff it in my Scout and wheel the crap out of it. Rocks, trails, and snow (sand once a year maybe).

It rides around on a trailer most of the time, maybe a trip to the mini mart down the street but not much farther.

The truck weighs about 5200 pounds as is. The IH 304 and 454 weigh about the same - but the 400/205/D60 out weigh the T19/D300/D44 so I'm shooting for 5500 pounds ready to roll.

[WildWilly4x4]

Put a stock BB TBI on it and be done then...You will be happy with it for a crawler.....the closer to stock it is, the better the driveability.....when dealing with TBI. Try to use the '87 harness and computer chip too if you can, I dont remember for sure what years were the same as '87, but the first couple of BB TBI years did not have a knock sensor or module....just makes the wiring cleaner when retrofitting into another rig.

[dboy]

Originally Posted by WildWilly4x4

Put a stock BB TBI on it and be done then...You will be happy with it for a crawler.....the closer to stock it is, the better the driveability.....when dealing with TBI. Try to use the '87 harness and computer chip too if you can, I dont remember for sure what years were the same as '87, but the first couple of BB TBI years did not have a knock sensor or module....just makes the wiring cleaner when retrofitting into another rig.

X2, plus once we get our emulator we'll be able to go in and tune that thing to make sure all the numbers are right.

[uglyscout]

Originally Posted by dboy

X2, plus once we get our emulator we'll be able to go in and tune that thing to make sure all the numbers are right.

I've been hearing that for about 5 years... "As soon as we got that chip burner figured out..."

Please....

I'd have a better chance of buying it myself then waiting on you guys.

[dboy]

Originally Posted by uglyscout

I've been hearing that for about 5 years... "As soon as we got that chip burner figured out..."

Please....

I'd have a better chance of buying it myself then waiting on you guys.

Perfect, you buy it and i'll borrow it, that was our plan the whole time!