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Too old to upgrade?

2K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  dauntless89 
#1 ·
Hi all,
I've had my 94 12v now for almost 1.5 years. It's been my work truck but I'm about to change jobs so why not make it a play toy! It had 295k on it when I got it and it now has almost 302K. With the mods in my sig, is it worth it to upgrade it or should I just do minor things to it? My goals for it are to be a dd/tow rig/play toy. I'm wanting like 400ish hp and the accompanying tq. I don't want compounds and I'm not looking for it to roll like a freight train either. Next mod is gonna be gauges and to tab the KDP. I've already read the beginners thread and know a good bit about cummins. I'm open to any mods y'all can think of but I'm trying to keep it on the cheap side for the time being. Thanks in advance!
 
#3 ·
Thanks man! I sure will! One big reason I'm wanting more hp is because the truck has a 9.5ft long steel flatbed on it and the truck weighs 7700lbs flat with out me in it. The stock power isn't enough. I can't hold 70 up a hill on the highway with cruise set
 
#4 ·
You'll need to add a shift kit to the trans and an upgraded convertor would be a good thing to have also unless this was already done during the rebuilt, other wise you'll be looking at number two trans rebuild.
You can start with a set of governor springs 3or4k, your choice, AFC Live tuner and a boost elbow. That wont quite get you to 400hp but you'll notice a big difference in the truck. Next I'd look at advancing the pump timing a little then add a set of 5x.012 injectors with 145 degree spray angle, don't get rapped up in hp size injectors, 75hp, 125hp, and so on means nothing to most 12v guys, your truck came with 5x.009's, a 215hp engine has 5x.010's, 5x.012 will get you in the 400+hp range with proper tuning, 145 degree spray angle is the correct angle for the pistons in your engine, 155 degree is for early first gen non intercooled engines and engines with marine style pistons.
These mods will put you in the 400hp range an at the point of needing to upgrade the turbo, so from this point on the amount of extra hp you want is fully dependent on the depth of your wallet
 
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#18 ·
You'll need to add a shift kit to the trans and an upgraded convertor would be a good thing to have also unless this was already done during the rebuilt, other wise you'll be looking at number two trans rebuild.
What about Overdrive? The very first thing that happened to my truck after my upgrades is that I broke that OD retaining ring. By "the very first thing", I mean the first time I drove it and hit the accelerator. The guy who rebuilt my transmission said that broken ring is a really common problem with the 47RE.
 
#5 ·
400 should be easy enough!!! 3k4k kit 60# valve springs turn up the pump injectors and if you want to dip into the wild side do a small turbo upgrade(just makes the 400hp goal so much more achievable). 12v trucks make great power and are cheaper to upgrade i had a 94 that i did a compound kit on with the simple things that are being mentioned and it made 490hp(manual trans) like nothing good luck if you have questions let me know always happy to help.
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys! I will surely take those mods into consideration! Who has the cheapest converters and vb? Also, is there anyone in OK that has some gauges that they're willing to sell? I'm looking for egt, trans temp, boost, and fp. Preferably ISSPRO but anything but glowsh*t or maxtow will work.
 
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#7 ·
Check Hewitt's web site, They have good gauges and are cheaper than Isspro.
They had a dual boost gauge that allows me to monitor turbo boost and boost to the afc from AFC Live all from one gauge.
You can look at the gauges on the web site but have to call them for pricing and to place an order, nice folks that will return your call.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the info Destroked 450. I'll have to check them out in a little bit. Thanks Derek, I'll be working on those as soon as the weather warms up a little.
 
#10 ·
Never to old to start as long as it's still running good. Mine has 300k and runs 13.06 lol and the guy before me had it cranked up for who knows how long and he was a complete hack that should never have touched a tool
 
#11 ·
Well, it runs like a bat outta hell. The only thing is that it needs more power. It cant hold 70 up a hill on the highway empty.
 
#12 ·
If the truck is going to be down, and mostly apart for some time, I'd suggest putting a new head gasket into it.. just age alone will get them to deteriorate, check how the valve seats are looking, new head gasket, then put studs in and bolt it back down... If the valves need to be redone, then I'd suggest just cleaning up the ports and bowls.. some of these heads have horrid casting flash and it's the perfect time to clean it up.. while it's apart you also might as well put in some slightly heavier valve springs.. with the age of the old ones they're probably a little soggy.

Then a set of injectors, reground fuel plate, governor springs, and bumped timing and it'll totally feel like a new truck! I have the 5x012 injectors in my truck with 052 delivery valves... Depending on what the final goals for the truck are I think they're more than you need, I put down 437hp@2400 RPM with mine, and my lift pump was only supplying 8 psi.. I could easily have been over 500 with proper fuel delivery... Just so you have an idea of what they're capable of.

Speaking of lift pump, Look at Dauntless89's thread on how to upgrade the stock fuel system without breaking the bank.

What gears are in your truck? Probably 4.10's? I'm just changing mine to 3.55's since 4.10's are useless if you make any power.. I also have the NV5600 so I do nothing but shift.
 
#15 ·
I think there was some missing punctuation there.. Turn up the pump (fuel plate mods, governor springs), and get other injectors...
 
#17 ·
Never to old my truck has 441000 miles on it. With 4k gov.springs 7×11 injectors no fuel plate acf live 18degree of pump timing 63mm turbo 024dvs.

Best mod hands down on a 12v is 4k gov springs.
 
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