Build Up "The Cucumber"

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So if you are going to do a GM TBI conversion and you happen to be out in the junkyard scavenging for parts and you happen to come across a 91-95 Caddy with a 4.5 or 4.9 liter in it grab the air cleaner and everything up to the TBI. Consider yourself very lucky to have found this as it is almost as though it was made to go on a 2f. I remember seeing one of these in a picture of a 2f TBI conversion. Here are some pics of the plenum that I just modified with a step drill and a 3/8" npt tap for my MAT sensor. It has 2 spots on it specifically made to be drilled out for these as the rings are exactly the size of a 3/8" npt.

In the first pic is the other ring spot that I didn't drill and tap. The other 2 are of the one that I did.
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Nice.

What does the complete air cleaner and plenum assy look like?

Would the TBI assembly off a 4.1/4.5 caddy work on a 4.2/4.4 2F? Is it the same basic TBI unit as a 4.3 V6?

Just wondering if it would be worthwhile to grab everything off the top of a TBI caddy, not just the air cleaner.
 
FJ40Jim said:
Nice.

What does the complete air cleaner and plenum assy look like?

Would the TBI assembly off a 4.1/4.5 caddy work on a 4.2/4.4 2F? Is it the same basic TBI unit as a 4.3 V6?

Just wondering if it would be worthwhile to grab everything off the top of a TBI caddy, not just the air cleaner.
Click to expand...

The 4.5 and the 4.9 are based off of the HT-4100 engine according to wikipedia. Cadillac V8 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't remember if Caddy used the same standard GM TBI on these motors that they put on everything else. You would have to check it yourself and see.

Basically you want the plenum, the piping, and the air box. I will take a picture of it tonight for you.

In the mean time here is what one looks like in a 4.9 caddy.

Cadillac_92_Seville_4.9L_stock_w-text.jpg


Joe
 
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Some pics of the air cleaner from a 4.9 caddy and how it fits on the engine. I just slapped it on for the pic right now but you get the general idea. I am in a holding pattern right now as the locking washer for the crank nut won't be in till Wednesday. Plus I got a sinus infection so I haven't felt like doing much this weekend.
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Yeap that is the one I was talking about. Thanks Marshall! According to the wiki link I put up earlier, the caddy 4.5 and 4.9 were used from 88 to 95. It says that 4.5 became the standard engine for caddy from 1990 till 1992 when the 4.9 became the standard engine till 1995 when the Northstar was introduced. 1991 and 1992 are the cross over years.

The cheap plastic air cleaner riser kit I got on ebay arrived today. It contained 1/2", 1", 1 1/2", and 2" risers. Summit and Jegs sell these same risers individually for the same price I got the kit for so shop around if you go this route. I used the 1 1/2" riser as it matched up best and with a bit of my favorite none tape fix all, silicone, sealed and attached the riser to the bottom of the caddy plenum. Looks like it was always there. :)
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So I am back at it, slowly but surely... this summer has been crazy here, it's either pouring rain or blistering hot with 100% humidity so staying inside is preferable right now. Let me give you an idea how bad it is here. I went on a job interview today in the city. I was wearing a nice suit. I walked about 1.5 miles after I got off the train to get to where I needed to go. I didn't know that I had sweat glands in my elbows, but apparently I do. It's just been brutal here. I can't even say it is Africa hot here because I heard on the radio them interviewing people on the street about the heat... and a guy from Africa in NYC said it isn't that hot there. Brutal.

Anyway I got my pulley/crank flange/harmonic balancer worked out. Here is the thread with the original rumblings.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...ce-needed-crank-pulley-harmonic-balancer.html

The short of it is that the holes where the rivets were are already drilled 8.8mm. So you just need to grab a 10m x 1.25 and go to town on these. Works perfect. Pictures to come.
 
Pictures of the 10m x 1.25 25MM bolts used to hold the balancer, crank flange, and pulley. The balancer and crank flange have been threaded with a 10m x 1.25 tap and the bolts put in with green loctite. I just drilled out the pulley holes with a 7/16 drill bit and it fits on just fine. Just need to put on JIS 10m x 1.25 nuts with a washer and some blue loctite and I can now interchange my pulley to a serpentine when I bet around to making one.

Mucho thanks to Dave Crum ( aka cruiserhead ) for his help on this.
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Two more pics with it on the crank... god I hate that stupid lock washer I am pretty sure I could have gotten away with red thread lock as 130 foot pounds is well withing it's range.... the power coat stripped right off the dang washer while I was tightening the bolt. I may revisit this later.
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I ran into a wee bit of a snag in that my water pump pulley mounting flange was pressed on 1/8 too far. Used a puller and in a few seconds everything was in alignment. You can read the whole saga here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...e-help-crank-water-pump-pulley-alignment.html

I have made some pretty good progress on a lot of small things, most notably, drilling out and tapping the hole in the block that was originally used as a throttle pivot point on older F engines to an 8 x 1.25. FJ40Jim let me know what it was in the thread below and that it is a dead spot on the block.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/293420-anybody-know-what-hole.html

I tapped this with the 8 x 1.25 so that I can put on a Bosch knock sensor. I believe that this is the best and easiest place on the block to put it as it is about as far away from the noisy head, valves, cam, tappets, and lifters and in a nice solid spot to hear a ping loud and clear. I put a stud in with a nut to hold the knock sensor for now, but it very slightly loose. At some point I will probably make a bolt on my lathe that fits nice and snug into the knock sensor and is able to transfer the maximum amount of sound energy into it. Or maybe I won't. :)

Anyway pics to enjoy.
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Absolutely.

Man, you're truly balls deep in this build. This 40 is going to be awesome when it's done. How's the fit and finish on those 2 piece ceramic coated headers?
 
They are not like hot rod finished nice, but nice enough for a Land Cruiser. They fit about as good as any of the other headers you can get for an F motor. They are the best designed F engine headers I have seen or used. I had the SOR headers on my old 40 when I was in Atlanta and I really liked those too. I like these better so far. If I really want to go hog wild at some point I will make my own flange and tig weld up my own headers.
 
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Two things to be aware of on the knock sensor.

1. They are usually bolted on a machined pad, not against an as-cast surface. Dunno if it really matters, but there it is.

2. The knock sensor is critically sensitive to the amount of "crush" (bolt torque) holding it against the block. If it is not in good enough contact, then it will send no/erratic data. If it crushed too hard, the crystal will be squashed, unable to vibrate, and it will send no data. So be sure the mounting system & torque is exactly as called out in the OE application.

Dealing with this right now on a different vehicle.:mad:

keep up the good work... :cheers:
 
FJ40Jim said:
Two things to be aware of on the knock sensor.

1. They are usually bolted on a machined pad, not against an as-cast surface. Dunno if it really matters, but there it is.

2. The knock sensor is critically sensitive to the amount of "crush" (bolt torque) holding it against the block. If it is not in good enough contact, then it will send no/erratic data. If it crushed too hard, the crystal will be squashed, unable to vibrate, and it will send no data. So be sure the mounting system & torque is exactly as called out in the OE application.

Dealing with this right now on a different vehicle.:mad:

keep up the good work... :cheers:
Click to expand...

I am using a knock detector kit that is generic. I asked the guy who makes it in an email where to mount it and he said to keep it away from the noisy side of the engine and that was pretty much it.

Engine knock detection and indication for all vehicles

And I need to torque it down 8-10 ft/lbs. :)
 
Every once in a while it pays to be lucky rather than good.

Got this off a 2001 Ford Ranger. I was driving by the junk yard and decided to pull in real quick and check. Glad I did, only cost me 20 bucks for some nice aftermarket performance wires, a bracket to mount the coil pack to, and a rugggedized 25 uF cap to run in parallel to the coil power to eliminate radio interference. :D
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