blowing the dust off my 1990 ss 454,any power tricks

[72 SUPER10]

i am going to start working on my all original 1990 ss 454 truck, and need some input on what performance up grades,that will count ,with out affecting any daily driving to much,thanks,vince

[bigbadjohn84]

well a start would be a nice intake and cam swap. if it's tbi, I suggest a tune and possible increase in fuel pressure. headers. a nice free flowing exhaust. just a start lol

[dammitmitchell]

if yo9au re going mild.. i would do a simple cat through exhauset and a mighflow filter/ or intake kit
.. that's "all youd need" to be a good mileage streetable truck.. and well.. if it breathes and poops better.. .it'll be happier...

[72 SUPER10]

thanks ,

[454HO]

Just how much are you lookin' to get out of it? The stock 454SS was not exactly a 'barn burner'. Peanut port heads, tiny cam, and a inadequate throttle body injection intake equals mediocre performance at best. If you do not have to worry about emmisions, slap on a RPM intake, 750cfm vac secondary Holley and some headers. That would be an improvement, but to really get serious you need better heads and cam too.

['72customdeluxe]

Originally Posted by 454HO

Just how much are you lookin' to get out of it? The stock 454SS was not exactly a 'barn burner'. Peanut port heads, tiny cam, and a inadequate throttle body injection intake equals mediocre performance at best. If you do not have to worry about emmisions, slap on a RPM intake, 750cfm vac secondary Holley and some headers. That would be an improvement, but to really get serious you need better heads and cam too.

Along with 7.8:1 compression.. Need some smaller combustion chambers for sure. Heads milled (if you don't want to buy new ones) along with a mild cam would be great.

[Super73]

Originally Posted by '72customdeluxe

Along with 7.8:1 compression..

Ahh, I smell a turbo

['72customdeluxe]

Didn't think of that, but remember, tbi! good luck getting someone to tune a turbo tbi for him. I say bang for the buck, 6.0 lq9 swap. One of those stock will dominate your 454

[Super73]

Put a blow through carb on it...

[72 SUPER10]

you guys are getting warm

[dammitmitchell]

well cam and supercharger... theadsers through exhaust...
i was assuming you were going for basic and streetable....
i feel superchargers are easier to deal with.. and mroe fun...
due to the lack of piping (turbo) and all you "have" to do to change your boost is a pulley swap and belt..
which is always easy as heck to do..

now if you want to be fancy you can put a one inch intercooler on the super (bu tthat's wher eyou have to get a cowl hood)

[Super73]

In my opinion it's easier to change boost using a electronic boost controller on a turbo setup. Plus you have more control of when the power comes in to help with traction.

Use factory manifolds turned forward (not sure if you can do that on the bigblocks like you can on LS1's). Helps keep from cracking the welds due to heat.

[72 SUPER10]

good info guys, im taking notes, vince

[dammitmitchell]

supercharger, hp is directly related to the rpm. mroe rpms more powwah..
and power is "instant" no laggie goodness.... and throught the entire powerband..

in a turbo you have to build a good lowend until the "boost" kicks in and you have a shorter but insanley powerful powerband..
to eliminate that "lag" people generally use nitrous...
or preloading..
now.. automoatics generally are better with turbos... and superchargers are better with stick.. (for the general user)
and this is just my experience and opinion...

now.. PROCHARGER...
oh yeah the half breed bastard child of both supercharger and turbo...
no hot air recycleing, but still intercooled.. and continous power throught the band...
can be tuned by either changing pulley size and or engine management systems....

i preffer prochargers.. when i have the monies and permission from my wife to use them...

nwo this is my opinion...
but i stilll say supercharger.. period especially if you ever tow or use your truck for anythin besides scaring imports and destroying asphalt..

['72customdeluxe]

You won't even notice any lag with a properly sized turbo and a good overall system.

[Super73]

Mitchel, those are some good points, but like 72custom said, lag is dependant on th setup. You can get a single small turbo to make 500rwhp easily and it'd be spooled by 2,500rpm. Might take a nose dive at 6k rpm due to the exhaust hosing and or it's at it's limits. But a well set up package always wins weather it's NA, N20, Blower or Turbo.

Either route would be a cool thing..

[D13]

Had one. Don't bother doing much to it, mild cam, air cleaner, and not much else. As pointed out above the motor is really not a performance piece, it was engineered to be a tow truck for horses. You either have to heavily mod it so it loses its 'original' value, or leave it stock and live with the slug.

Single best thing you can do is replace it with a 502 with a 3500 stall converter. Or at least swap in a 454 Vortec.

Either way your next problem is traction. Slicks and slappers to start, 4 link if you want to race.

I got rid of mine because it was slower than my '72 402 powered Longhorn, and got the same stinkin 9mpg (although the laterones with 4L80E probably get better..). Was getting pounded by stock 302 Fords! And would have taken the 502 and a lot of suspension to fix it.

[72 SUPER10]

I GONNA FIX THE PROBLEM , WITH A 468 WITH 781 HEADS,AND MILD CAM,INTAKE AND CARB,AND DRAG RADIALS,AND KEEP MY STOCK MOTOR ON THE ENGINE STAND, I AM PRETTY SURE IT WILL RUN MID 12"S AND WILL STILL HAVE A/C AND GET ABOUT THE SAME MILEAGE , HOPEFULLY.

[dammitmitchell]

damn....
and all i can say is...
"check mate"
good luck! include us all in the build!

[bigbadjohn84]

that works too. yea.. big block is big block. mileage sucks. gotta pay for performance

[72 SUPER10]

10-4 thanks for all of the input from everyone ill keep yall posted ,thanks,vince

[69trk]

turbo,turbo and turbo and heads and cam and a turbo

[72 SUPER10]

I HAVE A OLD SCHOOL GALE BANKS TWIN GARRETT TURBO SET UP WITH INTAKE STYLE BLOW TRU ,I HAD THE TURBOS REBUILT AND INTAKE POLISHED COOL LOOKING , WAS HIPED UP ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO WHEN I GOT THEM BUT THINKING ABOUT JUST PUTTING A SUPER POWER SHOT PLATE ON IT.

[70rs/ss]

I've got a 90 454 ss as well. Mine is original, but the engine is dissassembled. It got water in one of the cylinders with the clip off of it. Anyways, I am going to build a 496-505 ci stroker and run that. Cal tracs bars and it should haul the mail. not building it as a racer or a DD just an occasional fun ride!!

['72customdeluxe]

To the original poster. If you decide to stay original a while, an new fuel pump along with a 100-125 hp wet shot of nitrous might work wonders. Sneaky as hell too.