Gordiggz

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying another formula. The car is an original '88 tpi 5 speed car. It had a 350 swap performed in the past. The block is a 70's 2 piece rear main block.

My buddy has owned the car for about a year or two, and is just sick of dealing with it and would rather put money in his stang. It backfires a little and smokes (fuel not oil) when you get off of the gas. My theory is the cam is dead wrong, considering it being an older style block it's probably either an RV/budget performance carb'ed cam or a stock cam.

I have an entire extra LT1 sitting on a stand in my garage that I probably won't ever use, so I figure the best place to start is an LT1 cam swap. My concern is the fact that it is a roller cam, so I'm curious as to what it will take to get that functioning in the old block. My hopes are to use the "dogbone" braces and stock lifters...... can I make this work?

If not, I was wondering if anyone had a non-roller cam in mind to use that would be similar to a stock TPI cam if the roller is costly to install.

Also, is there a sticky anywhere for the 305-350 tpi swap? I thought I was reading one awhile back, but I can't seem to find it while searching.

Atilla the Fun

no, you can't do the roller the way you want. If you want the '85-'86 Corvette cam, go to www.competitionproducts.com and search item number E860S. It's so close in spec that any difference can be called production tolerance in the old GM cams.

Gordiggz

That's the exact info I wanted. Thanks alot.

Just for reference, could I use the LT1 cam with aftermarket roller lifters with the arms that hold them together? (pardon my non-tech description)

Atilla the Fun

That way is more expensive, but has the advantage that there's no risk of wiping a lobe flat. To do that, you'll need to not only use a cam button on the front of the cam, but trim it to compensate for the longer nose on the LT1 cam. Plus you'll need to shorten the LT1 cam's drive pin, and use the timing set for an '87-up roller SBC.
If you can afford it, this is the better option. You don't need to pay $400 for a set of these retrofit roller lifters from COMP, or SpeedPro, or whoever. The secret is to use the Howards brand from www.competitionproducts.com. This option saves you at least $100, plus it's good, American-made stuff, not re-boxed Chinese junk.
for the timing set I strongly suggest a Cloyes Street Roller. About $60, but I've yet to find a cheaper timing set for the roller 350s that doesn't stretch over time.

Gordiggz

Sounds like either approach will be good for me. If the money is there when I break into it, I'd rather do it the most bulletproof way first since me and intake manifolds are not exactly best friends when it comes to re-installing....

Appreciate the wise info on product selection too, that's why this forum is so valuble for so many people. Was looking for used ebay motors sets of comp lifters that were close to 300

Atilla the Fun

the trouble with used lifters is you can't be sure about them. Maybe they were in an engine that had a problem, and was circulating little pieces of metal in the oil. that can damage the guts of the lifters.

Klortho

Why not just put the extra LT1 in it?

Gordiggz

Really just a matter of time vs. money... I have almost all the stuff to do the swap, but I've been pissed at myself because I used to enjoy these cars as a teenager more than anything else in the world, and now I just find myself in the garage staring at my poor car thinking "when am I going to get to drive this again?" Plus, TPI has some sentimental value for me, my first formula 305 was the spitting image of the car I'm buying. Selling the bird I have now to recoup the money spent on the new one.

I guess I'm just burnt out on the whole LT1 swap idea. I just want a reasonably quick bird to drive. I work too many hours on salary, not to mention I've been trying to start a business. I'm just not the kind of guy that will let anyone else touch their car, so if I don't do it myself, it doesn't get done. Plus I'm sick of "will it pass inspection?" running though my head every time I want to do something different. Looking for a car to shove a straight axle under and maybe pull the front wheels up a few inches on a launch for a fresh project, kind of looking to go "back to basics."

Gordiggz

Well some new info has come to light here. My buddy swapped in some ford injectors (24's i think?) he had back when he was running the 305 ECM, now that he switched to the 350 ecm is when the popping started.

I'm thinking I should go to stock 22's and see what my results are. He also has an AFPR for it, he said it would never change the pressure no matter how he tried to adjust it. So I'll try to re-install it and see if he missed something somewhere.

Does this plan of attack sound logical?