Who am I and why am I here?

[tuffsnuffy]

Short version: I'm trying to figure out what these numbers and letters mean. I think I've figured most of it but not all, your confirmation / incite would be nice.
16197424 = ? 1994 454 Auto
BJKW = ?
partial VIN 1GA0571793 = ? most I could figure this TBI set up is out of a bus of some sorts.

Long version: I have a 1968 Chevy C10 powered by an 1970 Oldsmobile 455 backed by a 700R4 and a 3:73 geared rear end, power windows, power locks with remote, cruise control, vintage air heat & AC. This truck was built and upgraded over the decades by my father-n-law mostly with parts from the salvage yard he was part owner of. He mainly used it to pull his fishing boats and my wife and her sister also drove it to school way back in the day. When he decided he was going to sell it 16-18 years ago I told my wife I was willing to sell my truck and by this truck and use the leftover money to get her a new car as she was tired of driving a mini van. I'm a good husband that way;). As I was going to be daily driving it pulling my construction trailer I wanted a few changes made to it. First was pulling the heads and having hardened valve seats installed second was getting a wiring harness and the rest of the parts to install the GM TBI set up on it. We got every thing together and installed and it worked great other than a few small problems. Under full throttle acceleration it felt like a rev limiter was kicking in a few hundred RPM before the transmission would want to shift causing you to have to let up so it would shift and then get back into it.. Not a problem 99% of the time but when you're pulling a trailer into heavy / fast traffic that doesn't want to let you in it kind of sucked. After several years I quite pulling a trailer around daily and the truck got driven less and less. After awhile the transmission lost over drive (only) which made driving highway speeds difficult and expensive resulting in it getting driven even less. By then I was rocking a family of 4 and a truck that only seated 3 was a tough one. After a while my kids were old enough to start driving and to make room for their cars at our house I parked the truck at my mothers house. Where a pack rat decided that the EFI wiring harness on top of the intake was just what his diet needed. Now the kids are gone and I'm ready to start daily driving this truck again. The wiring harness will be an easy enough fix for me but the transmission is my next hurdle. I can rebuild the 700R4 and have someone get into the computer programing / tuning and adjust the rev limiter if that's what it is and be happy or I can swap it out for a 4L80e. Which as I understand it this ECM is capable of operating (after I build/ add the transmission wiring harness in). When we originally did this conversion the ECM was taken to a dealer to have the VSS deleted so it would operate right. Back then I thought / was told that stood for Vehicle Security System. I now know that is for Vehicle Speed Sensor, so I'm guessing if I go the 4L80e route I or someone will have to get into the program and make some adjustments or alterations for it to control the transmission correctly. One way or the other there is going to be the need for some tuning. I'm the kind of person that if time allows would rather learn how and do things myself instead of having others do it. The first thing I'm going to do is get it back up and running, then I'll figure out which way I'm gong to go with the transmission and that will tell me what direction I need to go with the tuning.

[dave w]

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Gearhead-efi link with tuning information for chip code BJKW: http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...Information-OE

TunerPro RT software and an ALDL Cable are essential tuning tools. For the DIY tuner, chip re-programming equipment is also an essential tool.

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There is also the option of tuning with an Air Fuel Ratio meter aka WBO2: http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Inj...ng-Spreadsheet

[tuffsnuffy]

dave w Thank you for responding. I feel myself to be pretty salty on mechanical work and most other car related things. But after searching for information on the net and reading through some of the other post here I've realized that you all are speaking what seams to be a foreign language to me. Before I start posting much I'm going to do a deep dive into learning, new to me, names terms symbols and abbreviations. That and it seams like there are more than one name, nick name or abbreviation used for the same thing in some cases. That and I need to build a better relationship with this sites search feature so I don't go asking questions that have been asked and answered a hundred times in the last month or two.

[dave w]

The learning curve can be steep with Tuning.

"A Tiger can kill an Elephant . . . One Byte at a Time" is a good approach to learn tuning.

For the first Byte I recommend is coming up to speed with TunerPro RT and record a data log.

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Basic Steps: (about a dozen mouse clicks)

Download TunerPro RT (freeware version available) to a laptop and configure screen views.
Purchase an ALDL cable.
Install ALDL Cable Driver
Configure COM Port, with ALDL cable plugged into the laptop.
Load .adx definition file into TunerPro RT, available in the link in post 2.
"Start your Engine"
Start data scan.
Record data.
Go for a test drive
Stop recording at the end of the test drive and save .xdl file. "The Hello Tuning World moment"

[TriumphR3]

Take lots of notes helps too.

[1project2many]

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you've got a fun project.

You've got some good considerations ahead of you. 4L80E is a strong and capable transmission and it would be a good choice to use with the torquey 455. But it doesn't bolt directly to the Olds block so you'll need an adapter or two. 700R4 wasn't strong from GM but these days the aftermarket can often make them better. There's also a 2004R which was used behind the turbo V6 in the Buick Grand National. GN guys can make a bunch of torque and there's a ton of knowledge out there for building a capable 2004R. The If you are not likely to be towing trailers in the future the 2004R may be a good option.

One of the most common changes folks used to make with the 700R4 was to have the TCC disconnected. The TCC is the torque converter clutch and it locks the torque converter during low and moderate load so there's no slippage. Disconnecting the TCC on a stock transmission can cause overheating but folks really thought this was a good modification.

If the VSS were disconnected the ecm could get confused and run idle speed up too high. Do you remember that happening? If you look under the truck, the VSS should be located at the driver's side rear of the transmission. You can see if it's present and if there are wires connected to it.

Dave W has offered really good basic steps to get started. Tunerpro is a great tool and it can be useful for basic diagnosis of problems as well as for tuning.