Yea right with you preston, VE pumps are good and reliable only for stock setup to like only 350hp before you run into reliabilty issues. P-pump is the most reliable way to go for high horsepower applications and still be reliabe for daily driver. Let me tell you tho i hope you develope very deep pockets, cause it always seems that whenever anyone mentions goal abover 350 or so the money needed doubles (turbo(s) and clutches ain't cheap) lol. But 92smokin blacky best of luck to your goal hope you accomplish it

 

The VE is reliable as long as you stay with the 12mm H/R. Up to 400-450hp or so

 

I agree bud...

 

This will take a while for me to get it all totally done. But i plan on finishin it and doin everything i want to do to it someday. I really think i can get more out of this motor where i can't get as much out of the pump. This truck will be my daily driver for the next quite a while, but once i get all the money together and build it, then it will be a puller, and I'll buy probably a newer cummins that I will do some mild things too and make it my daily driver. There's nothin like a 1st gen blowin smoke 40 ft in the air at a truck pull and actually competing, thats what i wanna do, I'd probably be just about the only 1st gen in my area pullin, and i just want to compete with the newer, bigger trucks. Thanks for all the help and advice. I hope i can get it all to work someday.

 

You can do it better with more HP with a P pump. If you want a bigger CI engine. Do a P pump on a 6.7. Just change out the rods to a 5.9. The factory 6.7's are pm rods. Do the forged 5.9 rods...

 

All VE's are different is what i find.

The VE that was on the 1st 91.0 we bombed was way weaker than the pump on the last 91.0 D250 we bombed (still in sig)

When the power starts to drop off is what tells me when the pump is a little weaker.

"Smokems" truck is a 93 5spd with POD's, stock turbo, pump maxed and lots of timin, and ground pin ,and its at darn near 400hp with decent EGT's. sounds like alot but its really not. haha

"archer39" is another one in the PA group with a good runnin' truck. 393HP with a stock fuel pin.....hybrid 60mm turbo with 435 injectors and a lockup trans being his main mods. you know...timing etc. normal stuff.

400Hp/750tq+ on Diesel is very possible on a 12mm pump, depending how strong it is IMO.

 

My 90 should be one of those trucks that makes a good amount of power on stock injectors. I did a cam, ported head, ported ats manifold, super 40 a balanced bottom end and some other stuff.

A dyno will tell on what it really does tho........

 

Original "205" 12mm VE with over 230,000 miles and a modified 3200 governor spring (#2 only / no correction / A518 non-lockup transmission).

(Big-time ported head, Hellman IC, HX35 hybrid over an HT3B, Hamilton cam, Scheid 6x.016" EDMs, real cold air intake 'n other crap. With the exception of the cam, the short-block is factory OEM).

 

I can add my complete OEM stock motor with the exception of fuel (injectors, kta 14mm h&r) and air (s3/s4 twins) with crappy tuning has done 556hp.

To the original poster, IMO, leave the head and block alone til you get up to 600rwhp.

 

You may consider having the tops of the pistons ceramic coated to guard aganist burning holes through the pistons. Cost between $15. to $25. per piston, pretty cheap insurance.

 

Come to think of it, what do you plan on doing with the truck?

- Work it pulling 20K fivers through the mountains?
- Weekday worker / weekend warrior?
- Pulling a sled?
- Drag racing?
- Dyno-Queen?

Sorting that question will ultimately dictate what the engine will need.

 

See no one has done a stroker kit or has bored it yet. I still think we could get more out of these 1st gens with more motor work, I know it will probably be a little pricey, but it would be a breakthrough for the 1st gens if we could get around 650 to 700hp on a VE. I really want to do it. It will take me a while to get it all done because of money. It may take me a year or it may take me 5 years but i do plan on doin it no matter what. I'm gonna see how far i can go with this thing.

Field Boss, thanks for the info on the ceramic coated pistons, that would definately be worth doing.

Well this truck will be my daily driver for the next while, then once i do this build and bigger injectors and a big turbo then i'll just make it my puller/play truck. I've been plannin on makin it a puller for quite a while. The torque i would get from a stroker kit would definately be nice for pullin the sled if everything could hold together. And again, thanks for all the help and advice guys, I just wanna get this truck to go far someday.

And no one has anything to say about milling the head to get a little more compression? I know if i did a stroker kit and all that i would probably have to change the compression ratio anyways so i was thinkin of millin the head too?

 

More compression is the wrong way to go. You want less compression for a really high HP build.

 

In a word as the old saying goes.....Understand that I'm not being rude to you.. Speed cost MONEY, How fast do you wanna go....

 

okay so i'll scratch the head milling off the list.
Ha ha and i know speed costs money, thats the crappy part.
But i guess if speed wasn't expensive, then everyone would be going fast and none of this would matter.
But i think speed takes money, and knowledge. I love to figure things out and see what else i can get out of somethin. I want this to be a quick truck, but thats not exactly what i'm aimin for, I just want to make a mean sled puller eventually, but yes speed would be nice, I don't think going faster has hurt anyone