TrueIroc

I'm looking to buy a 3rd generation Camaro for the spring, but don't know if I should get a carb or tpi motor.

Should I get an 1985 or 1986 LG-4 carburetor motor? I looked for an L69 and I haven't seen any. Its over 25 years old, so in my state I have no emissions. So I would remove all the emission components, and run true dual exhaust with headers and flowmaster 40 series mufflers. I wouldn't run cats because there would be no need cause of no emissions. Would that be a good idea?

Or

Would it be better to wait till a 1989 or 1990 TPI comes along with the stock N10 dual exhaust. But I would have to run emissions on it cause its not 25 years old yet.

What would you do?
Get a '86 Carb and have no cats and no emissions? Or...
Get a '89 TPI and have cats because of emissions??

Thanks,

Tim

chevysquid

iTrader: (7)

Just make sure you get one with a 350!

cuisinartvette

Lets dispell a myth right now.

Emissions equiptment removal is not going to make a car fast. It may unlcutter an engine bay a little thats it...if it did free up any power youd probably never notice put it that way.
Get the one you really like, either or.

89Camaro89MI

iTrader: (2)

That's a tough call.

Usually the trade off is carbs are more reliable, simpler systems. If you've got the electrical savvy to diagnose and fix a TPI motor, it's worth the extra 5-10% HP it will generate.

Personally, I'd lean toward Carb in your situation, but I'd say it's mostly because they're easier to fix. If you're going to put a serious budget behind your ride such that you're not worried about it falling apart, go TPI.

TrueIroc

I forgot to mention It's a 5 speed. I hate automatics, so the 350 would be out of the question because I'm looking for an original car; and they never built 350's with the 5 speeds! Too bad, cause that would of been one Sweet Ride!

The basic decision for me to make would probably be between a:

1. 1987 IROC Z, LB9 5.0 TPI @ 215 HP, G92, 3.45 gears, 5 speed with 23,000 original miles. A/C Deleted option.

OR

2. 1986 IROC Z, LG4 5.0 4-Barrel @ 165 HP , 5 speed with 20,000 original miles. Has A/C, believe it works. (I still don't know if the '86 has 3.23 or 3.73 gears, will find out soon)

Of course I would love a bigger engine, a 350 would be nice or even a 383 but don't got money for that. Just got enough to get the car home safe. But since the '86 is carbureted and doesnt have a computer, I could possibly put in my 305 2 Barrel Carb Race Motor thats been sitting in my shed. It only has 5 races on it and is rated at 300 HP. I could throw that in the 1986 car, but would get horrible gas mileage..lol.
What would you do?

TrueIroc

Well I'm not a big fan of the color on both of them.

What I really like and want is a 1989 G92 5 speed with low miles, but I haven't seen any and don't know if I ever will. I might bend a little bit and get something now to enjoy in the spring. So should I jump on one of these two? Or should I wait until the right one comes... if it ever does! Time is ticking

torque_is_good

stop worrying about the engine. Your location shows New England which is home of road salt and rust rust rust.

before even opening the hood you need a magnet, a scewdriver, flashlight and an experienced person to look at any car with you.

I used to live in New England and just accepted frozen bolts that broke, rotted brake lines and rust as being normal. I now live in FL and the difference is night and day. I was given a vehicle from NH for free but paid $500 to have it transported. I got it running, ended up having to run new fuel and brake lines ( it was only a 1999) and finally said to heck with it and junked it. It wasn't worth sinking any more money into it.

It reminded me what New England vehicles are like.

You mentioned that you want a safe vehicle

So, do yourself a favor and give any of the older vehicles are real thorough inspection before getting all emotional about which engine or tranny.

You may want an old camaro but I can assure you that you don't NEED one.

nosajwols

iTrader: (1)

They never came factory with a 350 carb or 350 TBI combo but they did with a 350 TPI. If you looking around get the 350 TPI. As others noted rust will likely be the trump anyways...

If you are looking to replace the motor with a hopped up 350 (or bigger) than I might lean towards carb because it is a little easier to modify.

As for emissions, the only device that might be power parasitic (significantly) is an air pump (if equipped). The factory cat might be a little restrictive but you can always get a high flow version.

AutoRoc

iTrader: (1)

Tpi car all day. Even swapping to a carb later is easy. True duals don't fit nice under these cars, sorry. A header/y-pipe system tucks up nice and 3" exhaust and a race bullet muffler flows enough air for 500+ HP.

camaronewbie

The LG4 car IS computer controlled - the factory carb IS a computer controlled Quadrajet system - ALL 3rd gen cars are computer controlled from the factory!

Carb vs. TPI - owner choice. Regardless of induction, I'd buy the better overall car.

85_ZED28

Not if your LG4's Canadian!

JimRockford

One thing that bears mentioning in this debate is that both the TBI and TPI engines have the fuel pump in the tank which becomes a costly nightmare when it goes bad as you have to cut away the exhaust and drop the rear end to get the tank down,that is unless you are going to do the Gomer Pyle backyard hack job and cut into the floor of your hatch area.

The carb cars don't have this problem as they use a mechanical fuel pump mounted on the engine block.

I think the engineers at GM who didn't think to put a proper access panel in the hatch floor should be horsewhipped.
I've heard it costs $400 up to have it properly done.

turbo_jimi

I prefered the carb once I went to mechanical advance and deleted the computer. I like the "old-school" feel.

TrueIroc

I'm not dumb, I wouldn't buy a car from new england unless it had under 20K original miles and was always garaged kept and never driven in rain or winter.
I've been searching all over the U.S. I'm a new englander, I know to stay away from rust. And a low mileage car shouldn't have any!

I'm a mechanic, my job is to inspect and fix vehicles so I know exactly what to look for. Don't need help with that. I'm just not an engine builder, thats why I came up on here first to get you third gen lovers advice before I toss away 10K on a car that I'm going to keep forever.

TrueIroc

I hate automatics, so it wouldn't be the 350 because they never made them with 5 speeds. I'm looking for an original car so it must be the 305, but what year is the best?

TrueIroc

I under stand the LB9 would give me more power and better gas mileage than the LG4, but I could do more mods and increase power with the LG4 Carb.
What about the 1989-1992 G92 Camaros? They all came with the N10 Dual exhaust! They made it fit and work...

TrueIroc

What if I put a Holley or Demon carb onto the 1986 LG4 motor. By removing the factory computer controlled quadrajet carb, it would then be easily computer-less. Correct me if I'm wrong...?

Both cars look immaculate... so its a tough choice. It all comes down to the best motor! Keeping it stock or modding.....

TrueIroc

So how is your Carb different? Any more power? How do you like your car? Did you have to put any big money into it? Do you still have the stock carb on there or go aftermarket?

TrueIroc

Is it me or do the Carbs have more throttle response then the TPI's?
But Carbs need more maintenance and TPI's last longer...

85_ZED28

My car still has the stock non-computer controlled Q-jet from the factory. More power? I doubt it. I'll be swapping out the LG4 for a 350 soon.

64elko

well it is a tuff decision... but if you want real power go to a carb.... if you want mileage i would go to TPI.... i get 25 on the hwy an 19 in the city with my tpi......

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

You can put whatever carb you want to on an LG4 and its still gonna be slow as molasses. You put a fancy demon on there and it will still make 165hp. Put a carb on a TPI LB9 and I still doubt it'd make a huge difference. You'd lose drivability and add maybe a little more power at high RPMs, but these cars dont have the camshafts for that, the difference in peak power you'd see are pretty small, and I'd bet you'd lose torque in the process (low end torque at least).

The only advantage to carburetors is putting them onto a built, high output custom engine because its easier to tune them yourself. The QJets have their advocates around here, but I wouldnt bother trying to make a stock QJet work on a hopped up heads/cam 350/383.

The process of adding a carb to these cars leaves a lot of issues that need to be handled properly, such as the fan switch, fuel pressure regulator plumbing, torque converter lockup, and fuel pump. All can be dealt with, but for a stock engine, I'd just leave the induction alone. If it's TPI I would leave it there until you're swapping cams/heads out or something, it will serve you well until then.

TrueIroc

I think I'm going to pass on the LG4 motor. You guys are right, not too much to improve on 165 HP. If it was the L69 I would def go for it. The color of the TPI for sale is my least favorite. So I'm going to wait for the right colored TPI to come along.

Thanks for your inputs...
Thread is dead, may be deleted!

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

By the way I'd avoid the dual cat cars from 91-92 if you just want to legally do dual exhausts. It gets real complicated trying to upgrade those exhaust systems and stay legal. Very few companies cater to that market so you're kind of stuck with the factory piping. And it's not dual exhaust - it's dual cats. They neck down to a single pipe long before tehy go over the axle. Compared to a stock single cat setup they flow better, but single-cat exhaust setups can be easily upgraded legally to larger diameter pipes and so forth without much hassle or cost.