about a 1989 chevy 1 ton 454-?

Question

i need to have a little more horsepower-what can i do to it for more towing and hauling. its a 1989 chevy 1 ton with a 454 tbi and a 400 tubro with 373 rear gear. i pull a 28 foot race car trailer with a race car inside, also i have a vendors overdrive and it helped alot, but i need more. someone please help me-or tell were i can go for answers. thank you dave

Answer 1

Seems to me you already know the answer to this. You pull a race car trailer, so either you have some funds, and a knowledge of engines and power, or are a professional hauler. I'll go with the former for purposes of assumption. Since your vehicle is about as heavy duty as you can go with a gasoline powered vehicle, a chip is about as significant as another crater on the moon. Get a positive displacement supercharger. The only way to go for low RPM grunt. Get an aftercooler (intercooler to the uninformed) and also consider methanol injection for a tow rig your size. Centrifugals are useless for this application, and anyone who recommends them doesn't have a clue. Your engine was originally intended to be used in RV's, and used heads with round ports, and low compression. Perfect for a s/c. Talk to Magnusson, Kenne Bell and Whipple. Either a Roots or Twin Screw (Lysholm) will be what you're looking for. Of course, it will make your ride a little thirsty, but you can't make power without fuel.

Answer 2

I own a shop, build engines, and race some too. A 454 with a 3.73:1 rear end should pull the gates off of hell. If the engine is that sick, then one must think the timing chain and gears are shot. It can be a worn out cam shaft, but you didn't imply how many miles were on the vehicle. A 28' trailer with a race car inside + tools and other stuff, means you are pulling a big load. All of the 454 power is in the lower RPM range up to about 4,500 RPM's. Horsepower is not what does the pulling, its the torque that does it. You might want to consider talking to someone at www.cranecams.com/ and discuss the weight, gearing, and rear Axel ratio with them, and see what kind of cam they have in the Torque department. 500 horse's doesn't do much good if you are only getting 350 lbs. of torque. The Gear Vendors Overdrive is a good choice, and should have made a world of difference. If the engine has over say 80,000 miles on it, then swap out the cam for a torquer, and replace the chain & gear set. I would take a long hard look at the distributor set up too, as this can be a real power robber.
Glad to help out, good Luck!!!

Answer 3

1989 Chevy 454

Answer 4

Even though the 454 is Chevy's best puller that is a lot of load even with the 1:1 ratio of 3rd in your tranny, I recommend 4:10 axle gears and depending on the miles freshening up with rings, bearings and a 268 duration RV cam. Considering your additional overdrive depending on the ratio of it I might even go as far as 4:56 gears

Answer 5

You've got a lot of horses with the 454 but if you want a little more, you can change the stock computer chip for a chip that will give more horsepower. Advance or one of the other auto parts stores should be able to help you. Otherwise the other option is to rebuild the 454 and increase compression, get roller rockers and lifters and do a little port polishing but you've going to spend a lot of money.

Answer 6

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I'm not exactly sure how the engine is set up, but it sounds like a stuck/broken choke problem, especially since you can run fine cold and the engine fails when warm. It's dieing from too much fuel for the amount of air available. Is the intake butterfly valve open (full) when it is warmed up?

Answer 7

1989... alot of your parts have been subjected to wear... tuning a truck for power is alot like tuning a car for power...

try a new air filter/ oil
spark plugs
exhaust... headers to muffler
choose a more "open" cat. converter if you use that option
try a "upgraded" drive shaft(s)
grease your bearings


not all of these are going to make great gains.. but anything helps..

Answer 8

Dave, If you have the funds, see if catipillar makes a v-8 diesel that will fit your truck. The diesel engine ought to give you the power for your towing needs. You may also need a different and stronger transmittion as well

Answer 9

How did the GV help with more power? You need to make the switch to turbo diesel power. The added torque is the answer.

Answer 10

K&N air filter

RV/towing camshaft

modified ECM

try hotrodders.com and such sites, google