Tbi-MAX

cool, thanks for the information on that one... the burban does have the 60e tranny, and i think the pcm in under the drivers seat... it also has can be pulled forward easily, cause it has enuff cord with it... 1st I have to get rid of my hypertech chip... lol

after reading alot about tuning, im not too worried about it now.. i am a engineer in computers & electrical... so if its not too complicated to do the MAF mod, maybe ill give that a shot too, but who knows... this is why i need to get deep into programing of the pcm. maybe i own my own dyno someday.. i installed the software tunerpro and winaldl, not complicated at all... i thought i would have to do some c programing or something..

JohnBlazeLTZ

What year is that Burban again?

Tbi-MAX

a 95 gmc

JohnBlazeLTZ

O.K. so...is that an OBDI or OBDII computer? Is that EPROM ECM or MEMCAL PCM? I think I was thinking it was an EPROM. From the year....I think it is probably an MEMCAL PCM. You should actually get better tuning from that ECM than an EPROM based one. Isn't there handheld tuner available for that year? I mean...the 1994-1996 Impala SS had a different computer than my 1993 Caprice and they were easier to tune than my car. Your truck sould be pretty easy to tune for PCM for Less....since they are PCM tuners.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Its a PCM, but sort of in the middle. It has all the usual PCM stuff in it, but still uses a memcal and eprom.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Its feasible to do the MAF mod and run the e-trans. I uncovered some alternate inputs (turbine input speed) that would allow you to still have the transmission output shaft speed along with the MAF input. Youd have to wire the TIS directly to the VSS at the tail housing, though, as its an AC triggered input. There are other inputs that are the same as the TOS thats taken up by the MAF, but I have yet to find the pin or pins in the harness that coorespond to them.

The biggest stumbling block to the MAF and etrans together right now is time... Just dont have enough to work on it.

JohnBlazeLTZ

Thanks man. I always thought they were a cross breed...not all good...not all bad...LOL...

Tbi-MAX

ok i need quick answer.. will these work?


http://www.moates.net/product_info.php?products_id=48
http://www.moates.net/product_info.php?products_id=40

what else? i have tuner pro, tuner pro rt, winaldl

is it just the cable left? and where do i get the parts to build my own to a usb?

JohnBlazeLTZ

Sorry...I do not know.

Tbi-MAX

will this ostrisch work for me? http://www.moates.net/product_info.php?products_id=57
what else do i need to work with that, to make it tune my engine....

BMmonteSS

My "free tune" thread has all this information in it....but I'm a nice guy so I'll retype it here.

A few explanations of what does what:

Burn1: Simple chip burner and reader
Ostrich: Chip emulator, allows tuning on the fly without turning off the engine or changing chips, you will still need a burner or you will have to leave it plugged in.
Autoprom: Chip burner, emulator, and dataloger all in one....very nice stuff and worth every penny
ALDL cable: self explanatory, but there is no DIY usb version that I know of. Moates sells one and the autoprom logs through your usb.

On to the software side of things.

Winaldl: Logger that works with the slow 160 baud rate of the older TBI ecm's, works with newer ecm's but is slow
Tunerpro: Cool little program that allows you to change the parameters in the chip, also has high speed logging capabilities.
xdf or ecu file: This file is used by tunerpro as a "road map" that shows where the paramters are stored on the chip. You need one for your particular ecm
.bin file: This is the image that is burned onto your chip, it's actually a lot of 0's and 1's and requires a xdf file and tunerpro to make any sense.
TunerproRT: Same as tunerpro but with support for "real time" tuning with an emulator.

Chip adapters:

TBI adapter: This is an adapter that allows the older TBI ecm's to swap over to a flash programable 28 pin chip from the old 24 bin design. Moates has them.

TPI adapter: You plug your stock blue memcal into this adapter which bypasses just the 28 pin chip with the bin file on it and allows the other chips to function normaly. You then plug your new modified chip into this adapter. This is what you need for your newer TBI ecm, Moates has them.

Throw in a few extra chips and you're good to go.

icarus402001

I'm guessing the TBI adaptor is necessary for vehicles up to 92 and tpi vehicles need the TPI adaptor?

BMmonteSS

refering to them as TBI and TPI adapters is misleading, really I should call them "chip" adapters and memcal adapters.

The chip adapter allows you to plug a 28 pin chip in place of a 24 pin chip (small black chip).

The memcal adapter allows you to use a removable chip in place of the big blue memcal.

Doesn't matter what form of induction you have just match your adapter up with your chip type.

Tbi-MAX

BMonte thanks for re-posting that... im thinking about leavin the ostrish connected... i just didnt know what to do, but thanks for clearing that up...

i took the entire intake back off yesterday afternoon... to fix that dreded leak... this time i let the black sealent sit for a good 15mins before i reinstalled the manifold... everything looks super clean inside... did a oil change after, super clean condition, installed a NEW 160 degree tstat... set my timing with a timing light... WOW

with the wire off, the dist wants to be about 10 degree before the truck even starts... but wow does it sound so much more powerful... with the wire hooked up, my timing wants to idle at 20-25 or so... it was pretty interesting..

what would be the effects of leaving that wire unhooked untill my tuning stuff gets here?

also, i think my stall converter is taking a crap on me... its making a noise from the converter, its not the exhaust vibration no more, cause i fixed that.. it started this with the old 350, but i guess now it wants to return... shhhit....

im just going to tune the snot out of the motor 1st, then worry about the tranny getting beefed up with the vette stuff, and higher stall...

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Glowing exhaust, poor performance... You wont have any advance w/o it.

Tbi-MAX

lol, ok, thanks for tell me that, good thing i didnt try that... ummm so does the ostrisch sound like a good decision? and when i start tuning what should timing be set at?

91chevz71

set it at 6 deg advance. make sure the computer knows this, start tuning off of a 96-up 5.7 vortec table just my opinion
yeah dude, definitely plug that puppy in.
I don't know if this is proper, but when I set base timing I unplugged the wire, got it started, and just tried to get the best idle then used the timing gun. TUrns out 8 degrees is good for *MY* engine. ABout 25/26 when it's warm and ESC connected

BMmonteSS

There are only 2 things that your base timing effect. The first is the total amount of timing you can get. With a large cap distributor you can only get 42 degrees of timing in the distributor. So by starting out at 10 degrees you can now get 52 total. Not a big deal and really not worth worrying about as most motors rarely need more than 42 degrees of timing under cruise.

The second and more important effect is starting. Once the car lights off the computer takes over timng and with the intial timing set correctly in the chip it does't matter if it's set to 0 or 15 it'll all be the same. Where it does matter is below 400 rpm (cranking speeds) as the ecm hasn't taken over yet. A cammed up motor will start more easily with a few degrees of timing added in.

Just keep in mind that untill you set the initial timing in the chip what ever timing you add at the dissy will be added across the board. So adding 10 degress could put you into detonation.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

FWIW, the 427 PCM controls the cranking timing. There is a table in the PCM that is just for cranking spark advance. My engine wants about 15* of timing on a cold morning to start and as little as 6* on a warmer day. With a hot engine, it starts best with a slight retardation of the timing.

BMmonteSS

Corrected again by the man who's actually messed with the PCM's. Man fast is there anything you don't know?

oldred95

I'm starting to wonder that myself.


As far as your PCM location TBI-Max it should be behind the dash just above the blower motor unless the SUV's were different then the trucks but I can't imagine why they would be.

1badz71tahoe

Fast could you enlighten me on the specific Table in Mention? I cannot seem to find anything searching around your key terms mentioned that would be applicable to the spark advance in Dimented24x7's MAF BIN.

Any help or hints would be appreciated, and sorry to go off topic.

- B

JohnBlazeLTZ

Man...Fast and Bmonte and Dimented...and some others...you guys are amazing with your knowledge. I think TBI Max is very lucky for you guys taking the time and explaining the in's and out's. This forum has impressed me in its depth of knowledge since the first day I ever step my "virtual foot" inside any of these threads. I wish there were other forums that were as in-depth as this one...espcially if it were for B-Body's. It just doesn't exsist. I have had to go to Full Size Chevy forum for info and Thrid Gen...for TBI info...all B-Body forums are for LT1's mostly.

Tbi-MAX

makes perfect sense, i understand now. I will just set the timing as low as it will possibly idle right now, at the distributor. I need to get that ostrich asap to change the pcm timing tables amongst others.

Tbi-MAX

im sure its under the seat, unless its a mystery box under my drivers seat, connected to the base with 2 clips that detach. maybe 4x5 or so, im not sure... or maybe it is behind the dash, i know thats where the est wire is...

ill inspect the box under the seat some more. cause i believe i have a hypertech chip in the truck too; cause i have all paper work. ill take a pic or something.

Yeah, I thank everyone who helped on this forum! as far as BMonte, Dimented, Fast, and JohnBLaze, and others... I got alot of help from these people, and they really should be respected around here. Alot help came as one to help me, good & bad criticism. Ive learned alot from you guys, I can agree this is the best forum with the most in-depth TBI information on the net.

Fast you amaze me with your in depth knowledge about each pcm, table, and then experience also. Any new videos out yet? As soon as I get my stuff running correct, Ill have a real nice video to post... what stall converter would you recomend for my combo, cause my stock is starting to get noisey. but goes and comes...

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Fast, what mask is that? I haven't seen taht in the $0D, but have been wanting to add it in to prevent the engine from ripping the cheezy little metric FWD starter clear off the block.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

Humm, got me thinking. I thought it was in OD, but I also look at an E6 all the time too (1993 4.3 CPI thats transplanted into a 1987 GMC Jimmy). IIRC, It is something like Choke Spark Advance

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

During startup, the commanded SA is held at 0 degrees untill the engine has reached 250 RPM or so. After that, a multiplier brings in the SA over about 1/2 a second or so. The choke SA is applied during the first few seconds of startup. It can help smooth the startup as the SA wont be brought in as fast on hot starts.

I always wanted to add a variable multiplier based on cool temp as well as startup SA control, but its debatable as to whether it would work. Not only could it detonate anyhow as the starter always gets stuck near TDC, but the DRP counter may max out since the junk FWD starter cant turn the engine over in hot weather. If only my block was machined correctly...

It may be feasible using the DRP interrupt and another counter, but its a whole lotta squeeze for not much juice.

JohnBlazeLTZ

Max...is there anything to report? I am sitting here bitting my nails off wondering.

Tbi-MAX

Not much to report yet, but i will keep you posted... just been so busy with some stuff im taking care of locally... ill be free to get back working on this project by next week. I will need help with the Ostrich for sure.

what have been done to the truck, is a open air element. chopped the stock intake up, to made it two lids... looks pretty good though.. i have to sand it some more on the edges, then spray it back black. overall, i should have done that along time ago.. man does it respond better...

i also replaced my distributor gasket, where i thought i was leaking oil from.. still to no avail, still has a small oil leak, that sprays ontop of the intake manifold. however i think my oil pressure sending unit is what is leaking, and causing a mist of a spray... could my oil pressure be so high to cause this? the leak is in the drivers side only, and mostly to the back.

other than that, i also installed a 160 degree t-stat. the truck sits very cool now. in traffic with the ac on it will sit about quarter mark on the dash... this is with the heat wave thats here, cause 3 days ago, its stay halfway between the bottom quarter... but im interested in some electrical fans, but i still want it to look stock.

i just cant wait to get this thing tuned... im so anxious, i have been babying it when i do drive it.... however i did get on it 1 night ago.. but not WOT, part throttle... i know im guilty... sorry..

but i ran a duramax diesel 2500, took him by a truck 1st light & 2nd light, 3rd light he had a 10mph roll this time, and i still kept with him by the fender... we ran from full stops from 0-65mph between lights in a 55mph zone at night.. but the turbo diesel is ridiculously fast! he slowed down to roll his windows, to ask me wtf i had in there... that been said, i know once this thing gets tuned in fully i will be one happy person... cause a duramax aint no joke folks.. until then i will be refraining from fun, but the truck still has only about 2600 on the motor..

one more thing, i think my 02 sensor is dead again, cause last time i was getting 10mpg was when my 02 died, and my egr died at the same time. well i have no egr now, but its still down from my 17 mpg or so.. thats with ac or not... ocassional egr light sometimes on interstate.

anyone knows how much should the ac cut mileage? i dont even know the ac is working with the 383, way difference from the 350... the 383 just pulls all day long, like it aint nothing to worry about.

Tbi-MAX

ok i just did some searches on the oil pressure sending unit... i think mine is about to crap out, and has been the cause of 1 of my leaks ive over looked... my oil pressure dips to like 20 when at idle, 100 degrees yesterday... but when i slightly touch the pedal, it jumps right back up.. it will even jump up to 60, if you bring it to 3krpm... but im almost sure, its leaking from the electrical connection... cause my symptoms fit what people describe. plus its a mist of oil under my air cleaner, and it puddles up on top the drivers side intake. also after i shut off the truck, its still those 2-4 drops after... and the 20 at idle is down from the 39-40 it used to read when warm.. mechanically the engine is as quite as a whisper. only noise is from my stall converter which needs replacement to something higher... that still comes and goes as it wants.

other than that, the dipstick registers me loosing NO oil... so all this oil is what is building up from the mist. even the spark plugs has a slight mist of oil spray...

i have a pic of the oil leak/spray... here is also my DIY open air element.. which needs to be sanded down on the edges, cleaned up, and sprayed painted all black... but time has been tight for me.. the bottom lid also needs to be made closer to the filter element itself.. but not bad for 1 days work...

this is a b4 pic, ill have a after pic, when its all cleaned up and ready...

JohnBlazeLTZ

Cool.

Just so you know...you can get dual stud air intake lids for GM/Chevy Trucks...and they also make kits that will allow you to swap over from the 2 stud to a single stud. Later on... when time/money permits...I would look for a Cold Air Intake set up for your application...something that draws in cold clean fresh air and separated away from the hot engine bay. There are alot of companies that make those for TBI Trucks...a lot.

I wouldn't be running anybody if the set up hasn't been tuned....I mean your risking it just driving it...and seeing that it has the possibility of an oil problem...I would stop driving it all together until your certain the oil sending unit is good...because if its not...then your oil pump could be taking a crap too...not just the sender...and since the oil pump is probably the most important part in the engine...your going to want to make sure the oil pressure is right on or your gonna start over again. I've seen it a hundered times...there already been a handful of other 383 TBI's that have bit the dust and I'd hate to see yours get put on the list too.

When you say your spark plugs have a mist of oil...do you mean in the cylinder? Cause if its in the cylinder...that could mean your got a bad seal on your piston rings...that could mean a lot of things....this is what I am saying...you need to make sure this thing is all tightened up before you drive it. Check the head bolts again to make sure they are tight...that is recommended after having the engine apart....likewise with the intake manifold and other related parts...you want to make sure everything is still snug after the engine has been warmed and cooled a number of times now.

Tbi-MAX

yea, i kinda of 2nd thinking the open element, cause of visual inspection and what not.. or does it matter? what vehicles can i look at, as far as the dual snorkel? the 2 stud to single is what i didnt understand, thats why i cut my stock up..

yea, im not normally running people, much less driving it hard or alot.. but i was feeling little good that night..

about the oil, its on the plug wires, at the distributor.. look at the wires in the pic above... like someone sprayed it with a spray bottle of oil... but the mist is over the drivers side and under the air cleaner lid. i swore it was the distributor gasket, as it was alot there... but my oil pressure switch is right there also. and im almost positive its coming from there. i cant think of anything else that would leak oil, that high up on the engine. i plan on fixing that completely today, and washing the motor.

i remember in my buick, all the oil came out of a sender in less than 1 minute. so i have to fix this today. I will also put a mechanical gauge to make sure. but i highly doubt its the oil pump... i will also go back over all my bolts and make sure its nice and tight..

i guess no driving till my 1st tune next week...

Tbi-MAX

ok, just cleaned everything off real well... sorta puzzled. the sender unit has no oil by the electrical area, so maybe its leaking from the casing of the unit? almost everything back there felt dry not oily. just that mist of a spray... could i be using the wrong distributor gasket or something? i could not find a oil gauge that was mechanical at advanced.. so ill take it to my mechanic to get the pressure checked out. but i believe its my gauge cluster that is off.. i did previously messed with the oil gauge in particular last week, as i had the cluster off. i will just re-adjust it to the mechanical gauge after i get a new sending unit.

i think my leak is from either dist gasket, oil pressure switch, or drivers valve cover gasket @ breather?

im also leaking tiny amounts of coolant from the neck to the intake manifold.. that ring clamp needs to be replaced along with the neck gasket.. cause its soft and mushy, from water... but thats minor, got the stuff to fix that just now.

beatercoprice

An oil leak like that you oughta be able to start the motor up get under the hood and bring it to driving RPM's and watch to see where its coming from.

getsideways

when i built my motor last year i had a leak coming from the rear of the engine also. i went thru the same thing as you. it ended up that it was leaking from inside the distributer. i bought one of those cheap msd look a likes of ebay. somehow it was letting oil come up the shaft, into the cap then out all over the place. i put my stock distributer back in and the leak stopped.

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

If memory serves me correct, there is an o-ring in teh top of the dist. When that goes, it spews oil.
----------
I have that as well. For some reason, the water leaks through the gasket itself. I got tired of replacing it and I just let it leak. Its funny, though. I pressure tested the system to ~16 psi and the gasket doesnt leak, but for some reason, the thing leaks right after startup before the t-stat opens.

Tbi-MAX

i did take your advice, but still cant see nothing, i mean zilich... i reved it, held it, etc, nothing... im puzzled...
also note that when the oil appears after cleaning it, will be about after 2 days of driving, the mist gathers up...

it must be the distributor some how, but im still runing the stock distributor. maybe i should get a msd, to match the rest of my setup...

how about i just replaced it with a new gasket, new clamp... but it still leaking from the damn gasket itself... lol, this is my 3rd time replacing it! yea, mine leaks right aways also... but the leak is so minute, i will figure something up in good time. maybe a new neck...


updates...

-new neck gasket on intake, and it still leaks...
-cleaned the engine up, put back on that ring for the breather.. to eliminate where its leaking from, also to raise the open element higher from the engine..
-turned the fuel pressure regulator up to about half... sounds like a totally new beast, and injectors a quite loud with the hood open...

shhhhit, the pc formated my disc on mistake, so i lost all the good pics.. ill take some more tmrw...

Tbi-MAX

just been so busy this weekend, didnt do anything. but...

i need stall converter recommendations; im changing my stall converter this week. and was going with a s10 stall, which should stall pretty higher with my 383. what do you guys think?

Tbi-MAX

ok, so according to Fast355 that s10 stall is going to stall about 2700 rpm behind my 383. so ive decided to go with that cause its cheap. so i will get that this week also. how hard will a stall be to install on my 2wd burb?

i also got my gauges running correctly. at least 2 were off, my oil and batt gauges. with the switch turned to on position, they were not zeroed out. i took some of my engineering lessons, of using instruments, and gauges...

so i zeroed out the oil psi @ the red line / 0. on the batt gauge i didnt zero it, but instead i measured with a dmm with the car on and alt charging to get 14v, so i set the gauge direct at 14 what i measured. so with the switches in the on position, its shows 2 down from 14, right at 12v where the batt floats at..

so im i safe to say now my oil psi is correct, and where it should be. i have noticed on cold morning starts it shoots past 60 like how it normally was, and idle right at 40. on a hot day maybe 38.

i have pics of these test; also a pic of what i think is my pcm up under the drivers seat. let me know if this is it.

ill post pics shortly...

with the ign in ON position, look closely, my oil lever is slightly above the red, i have to fix this, i didnt notice till it was back together. but lets say its alot closer than what it was, cause it was way down there, made it appear my psi was lower. now these readings are correct. i urge everyone to test their gauges accuracy in their obs vehicles.



now here is it with the engine running...

JohnBlazeLTZ

My Caprice starts out after start up just over half way...then after the car is warmed up and running...it drops down to 1/4 of the way and then under load...it rises up to over 1/2 way again...then when I let off the gas...it goes back down again....so...your seems about normal...(GM Normal).



Glad to hear your Oil is good...that is a very positive note. I was worried there for a moment. Once you get it tuned out...it'll be fun.

I was wondering what you had your injector pressure set at...you should dial that in better when you tune it...you should know the PSI...there is a small inexpensive gauge you can get for that. I think a 1/4 turn is like 2psi or something like that (...depends on which one you get some goe as high as 40psi and other are much lower)...I can't remember...one of the other guru's would know better than me. There is also a vacuam assisted fuel pressure regulator (VAFPR) too...you can get it from GM...I beleive they used them on TBI powered boat engines. Ask Fast...I think he's using one or has used one before....

Here is a thread on it at FSC.com

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...lve-hoses.html

The one dude gives props to Third Gen...

Do a Google search on TBI VAFPR....and do a Third Gen Search too!

Tbi-MAX

yea, something just made me test all those gauges, and when i start datalogging ill set the temp exact. i will check into the vafpr... i have some a pic of whats under the drivers seat, not sure if its ecm related now that i pulled it out.



also i have a video of the truck running at idle, with the hood closed, and you could hear it pur, and then at the back of the truck at the muffler... can you tell its a 383 in there? i listened to the clip on my receiver, turned up, its quite a note...

video @ idle with fuel psi turned up about halfway
http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z...ent=Title1.flv

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

That looks like part of the air bag controls. The PCM looks like this and is mounted behind the glove-box liner. I have pulled multiple PCMs out of multiple 1995 C/K series Trucks and SUVs. It is most definately behind the glove box liner. The PCM is above my left knee and uses Blue/Red connections.

Tbi-MAX

ok make sense, it being airbag control and under the drivers seat... i will have to yank the entire dash, or just remove the glove box area? i was a installer for several years, so i have pulled a few dashes in alot of vehicles. maybe i should install a remote start at the same time... thanks for telling me how to identify it.

Tbi-MAX

ok, so the time has come for tunning... sorry for the long delay, but i have just been so damn busy locally having to take care of alot of stuff.... the Ostrich 2.0 should be here on Wed. I will start messing with it as soon as i get it. I take it I should datalog the truck 1st... can this be done via usb?

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

With a USB OBD I cable from moates.net it can.

Tbi-MAX

cool, thanks.

I got to put the burb in the air yesterday, i figured out where the leaks were coming from... the driver side valve cover, back corner. so i put a new gasket on there and tightened down both sides.. i cleaned up a little bit untill, im sure its fixed.

here is some pics...

JohnBlazeLTZ

Cool on the oil leak...

About the pics...isn't nice when its all clean like that...its purtty when it new. If you can...try to keep up on cleaning under the hood to keep it looking nice...bragging rights.

Oh and by the way...me thinks its going to pull pretty good with that intake on it. You don't see a ton of guys using adapter plates with TBI so they can utilize a better intake.

Tbi-MAX

its soo pretty when cleaned up. i still have way way more cleaning to do, alot of detailing.... but however the oil leak re appeared... I believe i have a warped valve cover. cause since the removal, and new gasket, the oil doesn't spray, but appears quicker. the cover is lil dented on top, but bottom oval, is nice and smoothe... but im sure its the valve cover.. i have the blue felpro reusable gaskets. i even tried a nappa gasket. same thing. passenger side is fine. i may just buy a new set of covers.

also my tranny is taking a dump... which is very sad, but its slipping like a **** yesterday. it has 205k on it... but my tranny guy will do all the labor for 500 if I get him the performance parts, and bring the tranny in myself. he is no shade tree... he has his own transmission shop, here in the city for the last 5 years. for him to do everything himself he wants 15-1700.

i was thinking all the heavy duty bells and whistles, corvette stuff, and higher stall converter, new solenoids, etc.... we checked the differential, its fine, and has fluid. so the tranny is on its way out the door, i know it has a bad converter. but you can feel it slipping while taking off in 1st, then it catches it self sort of. but shifts are spongy now.

if its any tranny experts on here, please tell me what parts are best for the 4L60E.... PLEASE

how much tuning if any can be done without or slipping tranny?

im just gonna clean up my baby really well, and let her sit some more tell i get the cash. it will be a new truck when i get done, Im also going to lift it up 4" also with new shocks at the same time...

JohnBlazeLTZ

Yeah...that's actually pretty cheap for a 4L6oe. My 4L60 (700-R4 non electronic) was 1700 with all the bells and whistles...Corvette servo, Trans-Go and 3-4/4-3 shift mod.

You probably won't be able to use the Vette servo...your gonna need a truck application. So every thing Heavy Duty should be the direction you are going in. I know you have mentioned towing...so make sure your trans guy knows to beef it up for towing...not for crisp shifts off the line like a car set up would be. Your trans is going to need to be application specific.

You can pick up those center bolt valve covers for pretty cheap.

http://motors.search.ebay.com/search...trypage=search

Even used at a boneyard. They can be stripped down and repainted...or you can get some chrome ones...which look slick...or even the plastic "Chevrolet" ones from Proform...they are quite popular in centerbolt cars and trucks...and they ain't really tooo expensive.

...oh and BTW...I don't think too much tuning can be done with a slipping trans...