Both of those would be nice upgrades but will probably never happen on this engine. If I do end up keeping this truck long term, I'll probably just take my time putting together another 6.9L and swap it in. There are many things I'd like to improve on, but the truck still works great despite all the modding over the years.
If I were to start fresh now, this is my wish list:
Balance and blue print the rotating assembly.
Custom billet flex plate drilled for a 6 stud converter
7.3 style rockers
Moose pump with fuel aneroid
Scratch built rad support to accommodate twin intercoolers
Scratch built turbo manifolds for twin turbocharging (water cooled turbos)
Serpentine belt conversion
Electric cooling fans
Electric vacuum pump
Electric fuel pump
Typ4 cam
Full instrumentation, twin boost/pyrometer
Drop compression ratio through a combination of piston shaving and precup opening. Not by much though (depending on whether or not I use moose mister injectors). Probably aim for 20:1 static compression.
Stuff that remains in the maybe column:
Evan's waterless coolant.
Increase thermostat temperature slightly
Moose mister multi-port injectors
Ceramic coated pistons
Gapless piston rings
Staged Water/**** injection (not interested in propane or nox)
The fantasy isn't for a crazy big horsepower build and I'd be happy with less than 300. But I would like to get something that pulls like a bull down to 1500 RPM while still getting excellent MPGs.
The E4OD could probably take it if put together right. I just wonder if the engine oil pump could still put out enough pressure. Might need a bigger displacement pump on that list...
Did I forget anything?
Gotta say though, a cam swap is not exactly a weekend shady tree job. Its buttoned up back to the intake manifold but I probably still have another 4-6 hours to go before the first run around the block. Lots of cleaning bolts, gasket prepping and just making sure I don't forget anything. Swapping the engine would have probably taken less time.