fl327 Posted August 3, 2000 Share Posted August 3, 2000 hey homies and hometters, man i am in a funny dilemma here. i have the oppurtunity to swap a tpi 305 into my z for next to nothing, i already have the block and all the wiring but, i heard that the 305 (which is from a 80's camaro) doesnt make all that much power stock, right now i run a stock 327 with camel hump heads and 600cfm double pumper as the only mods, if you can call them that. i do run my car hard, but i dont dog him out but i do run lively all the live long day, and you can find me sideways every now and again, as well as me counting how many burnouts until my tires go. but joking aside, what would the differences that i would see with fuel injection, and would it be possible to run the tpi harness on the 327 without taking off the camel hump heads, whcih i love dearly. i do have an ad to try and sell the 305 , but i want to know the goods and bads of the swap,, if i use the 305, the 327 will up for grabs, with 30,000 miles rebuilt.also, on the newer 305's will the muncie 21 4spd work with it???? sorry for all the questions, but its for the love of the game that i ask them. thanx Leonard the fairlady 305??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 3, 2000 Share Posted August 3, 2000 IMO - stick with what you've got. The TBI is a glorified electronic carb - wet flow intake and all. I'd bet that you're making as much or more power with the current setup as you would with the 305. I don't think the added driveability that you MIGHT get from the TBI would be nearly worth the hassle of swapping one in. Maybe if this were a TPI 350 we were talking about I'd have a different opinion but frankly I've never thought much of the TBI motors. My 88 LX used to wax them at will stock so I can't imagine that the TBI is making much power. The TPI cars were a much better race at least Check out Street and Performance. I think they sell harnesses and modified TBI setups. Perhaps they'd have some information to help you make the decision. I'd also suggest checking out the HP rating of the donor vehicle. Does the 305 have aluminum heads? You could improve on those double hump heads pretty easily with say the Vortec heads GM has now. $600 a pair complete I think or not much more.... P.S. WELL DUH! We are talking TPI! What was the HP rating of the car it came out of? Aluminum heads? This is a MUCH closer call and a bit harder to install too BTW. High pressure fuel and a return line to the back for that bad boy. [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited August 03, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted August 3, 2000 Author Share Posted August 3, 2000 P.S. WELL DUH! We are talking TPI! What was the HP rating of the car it came out of? Aluminum heads? This is a MUCH closer call and a bit harder to install too BTW. High pressure fuel and a return line to the back for that bad boy. [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited August 03, 2000).][/b] the horsepower is somewhere between 220-245 stock aluminum heads i was going to do this before sticking it in roller rockers lifters, roller cam set up for my 3.36 rear end timing chain, electronic ignition box and 350 rods and crank to make it somewhat of a tpi 327ish machine, now what do you think ( my friend is a mechanic, and says that with the rods and crank it would become a 327ish type displacement block with the corresponding horse and torq, maybe a little quickeer, but i do love this camel hump service i have been rendering the local hondas, maros, and stangs.....the only defeats i suffered thus far have been from a zz4 powered 240 and a 1996 300z bumpin 20psi) i should do? i would build the tpi block up before putting it in. the camel hump is kickin ass, but i see long freeway commutes in my future, and man you know .... thanx mr. black magic, according to your expereience what do you think i should do???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted August 4, 2000 Share Posted August 4, 2000 I'd go with the 305 for several reasons. A: You get some serious reliability with the FI setup, I comment here since I have to re-tune my carb for max performance when the weather changes... B: 305s are coming into their own right now... Chevy HiPo is gonna do a special on building them up, and you can get stroker kits for them to bump them up, and parts are plentifull! C: Most 305s from the Z28s and IROCs I have seen came stock with roller valvetrains... a big plus for reving quicker... D: Getting 300+ hp out of them isn't to costly! I'd throw it in, shake it down, and de-bug the gremlins that will pop up. Then budget for a rebuild and upgrade over time! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 5, 2000 Share Posted August 5, 2000 Hrm, I've been thinking about this all day - sad huh? I still think a 350 would make a better platform but those aluminum heads probably flow better than the older camel heads. You'd not be giving up that many cubes and the roller valvetrain would be nice. EFI is great in my opinion so if you can swap it in what the heck - go for it. I'm not even sure I'd do much to the shortblock.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drewz Posted August 16, 2000 Share Posted August 16, 2000 Tbi is not a low horsepower item either. I happen to have a 350 with extensive mods, including dual tbi's on a tunnel ram and with a switch of a chip i either get max HP or 23 mpg. Its all in how far you are willing to go. ------------------ Drewz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 17, 2000 Share Posted August 17, 2000 A TBI is much like an electronic carb. It uses injectors and low fuel pressure to inject the fuel inthe intake much like a carb does. The advantage over a carb is that it's more accurate metering (done right). It's also got the carb's advantage of vaporizing fuel in the intake to lower air intake temp. Unfortunatly it's got some of the carb's disadvantages too - it's got the same mixture issues as a carb. Fuel can fall out of suspension etc.. The reaosn why most folks, including myself, don't think much of TBI motors is because most of them are low powered from the factory. We often think of the lower end Camaros with low compression V8s. Truth is if it were hopped up and reprogrammed a TBI would work at least as well as a carb if not better. However I think the real advantage lies in port injection - exactly metered fuel with less worries about the intake plumbing. This way you can go nuts to get long runners for torque, 2 stage intakes ala SHO, or whatever and the fuel is always exactly right injected straight into the port - no suspension issues. (shrug) Different strokes for different folks. Obviously the technology behind a TBI isn't all that bad - it's just not usually used in performance vehicles from the factory (that I know of) for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Drewz Posted August 18, 2000 Share Posted August 18, 2000 Tbi is not a bolt on and go like many of the other systems out there. You need to understand a lot of measures and have the ability to burn your own chips. A lot of time is consumed but the readily available used and new parts market has made it a viable option. You must have a chip burner and decoding program to do any fooling around or to just get it running. I guess I am lucky since I am surrounded by chevy fuel inj. nuts that layed the ground work for my monstrosity. This is not a simple option but it has cost me a lot less than any other system, financially. It has cost me a lot more time, But I still have money left. Any other route than this is simpler though! ------------------ Drewz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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