My final question, After all is said and done , I can see better drive-ability but do you feel for the work and cost involved, that the Aces setup will provide more horsepower.? The 4.9L V8 is capable of more power but the heads don't flow great and use small valves. A turbo can really wake things up as PBJ's install did but I believe he used the stock ECM and tuning might have been very difficult,
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
My final question, After all is said and done , I can see better drive-ability but do you feel for the work and cost involved, that the Aces setup will provide more horsepower.? The 4.9L V8 is capable of more power but the heads don't flow great and use small valves. A turbo can really wake things up as PBJ's install did but I believe he used the stock ECM and tuning might have been very difficult,
Hey man, I think Aces is the best bang for the buck - I'll double down on that when it comes to Turbo &/or Cam upgrades for 4.9s. The Aces systems make both of those upgrades possible/ much easier without the complications of trying to use an OEM or Cadillac ECM. So I would say yes, an Aces system will lead to more HP out of 4.9 motors, particularly with upgrades. My focus on a distributor solution started with plans to turbo an Allante 4.5, so I want to use the Aces Wild Card system which is somewhat universal multiport that supports boost with wideband integrated. That project is a ways out, but with any luck I'll have the new distributor running in my Skylark this weekend....
My final question, After all is said and done , I can see better drive-ability but do you feel for the work and cost involved, that the Aces setup will provide more horsepower.? The 4.9L V8 is capable of more power but the heads don't flow great and use small valves. A turbo can really wake things up as PBJ's install did but I believe he used the stock ECM and tuning might have been very difficult,
it's for guys like me who have no OEM ECU, and don't feel like learning GM ECUs.
Delta cam on the way!
[This message has been edited by psquare75 (edited 09-11-2025).]
I got some time in the shop today, here's a couple of pics of the 7 + 1 reluctor wheel that makes the dual-sync happen = ECM knows every 45* of camshaft rotation. All 8 blades have evenly spaced leading edges (first part of the blade) that goes through the hall effect sensor. The skinny one is for #1 cylinder (the +1). The hall effect sensor outputs a square wave signal so it is more accurate than an HEI magnetic pickup.
I was asked about oiling for the distributor gear and if the sleeve would interfere, so here is a couple pics - the block has an oil port just above where the distributor gear mounts, which is deep in the block and the sleeve won't be close.
My initial plan was to tig weld some button holes in the sleeve to the distributor housing. The first one I tried burned through and I realized I didn't need to be that fancy - the only purpose is to keep the sleeve from sliding down in the block, so I made detent...
Given the simple setup with the sleeve, cutting and drilling the distributor shaft is the only challenging part. I measured the Caddy distributor from the mounting base to the top of the gear and used that length to determine cut length and where to drill for the roll pin. The shaft length doesn't have to be too precise, so I cut it under the original hole for easy reference. Important note, the shaft needs to be held all the way up in the distributor when measuring so it doesn't try to pull out of the bore when installed - the Caddy distributor shaft moves up & down about a 1/4" and the Duraspark moves less and has a stop sleeve so if the length used to the gear is too long it will have interference.
It did not fire at first with using just the pickup sensor, so not sure if there is a different setting that would work. I did some trial and error, and using the Duraspark ignition module with the PIP output to the Aces coil (-) input got it to run. I need to find some more info on specifics of the signal type output to know how to best use it for a multiport setup. I'm sure it's a matter of just understanding the electronics better, but worst case the same mods could be done to an Aces Gambler distributor to run multiport injection.
[This message has been edited by 81 4.9L X-11 (edited 09-15-2025).]
I guess i'm shocked the cad gear has the same inner diameter as the ford gear? Did I catch that right? This opens up a ton for these engines IMO
It doesn’t - I first measured Caddy shaft at 12.5mm and Ford at 13.5mm. Converted, the Ford shaft is standard .530” for machinist so I had the Caddy gear reamed out to .532” to match internal diameter of the Ford gear.
I’m going to take a bunch of pictures when I do the next conversion and start a dedicated thread for distributor mods.
To your point, having the ability to run Hall effect distributor opens up lots of options- should be able to run any aftermarket EFI controllers, change cams, add turbos, etc. The Aces Wild Card stand alone kit is currently $500, which I still think is the best value.
Cheers
[This message has been edited by 81 4.9L X-11 (edited 09-20-2025).]
