Alternative Port EFI Intakes This board is for tech discussions and questions about aftermarket port EFI such as the HSR, MR, SR, BBK, FIRST, etc.

Where should I start and with what?

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Old Sep 10, 2022 | 09:07 PM
  #1  
Briar's Avatar
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From: Imperial Pa
Car: 89 formula 350
Engine: 5.7
Where should I start and with what?

I have a very good 350 that the intake manifold is not happy with the block. Im ready to pull the whole deal after 3x trying to seal stuff up. But... I want to keep the rear end. Parts are hard to come by so searching around here is moot. Can anybody say recently they did manifold, cam, headers, and efi or of the like and worked good? Not looking for crazy hp just clean up what I have and make a stronger runner. Thanka
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Old Sep 13, 2022 | 08:16 AM
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From: SALEM, NH
Car: '88 Formula
Engine: LC9
Transmission: 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 3.89 9"
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by Briar
I have a very good 350 that the intake manifold is not happy with the block. Im ready to pull the whole deal after 3x trying to seal stuff up. But... I want to keep the rear end. Parts are hard to come by so searching around here is moot. Can anybody say recently they did manifold, cam, headers, and efi or of the like and worked good? Not looking for crazy hp just clean up what I have and make a stronger runner. Thanka
Hundreds of different combos, depending on what you want to do. The ebay single plane EFI manifold and 4bbl throttle body is a cheap and good choice. Miniram works great too.

What year is the block? Keeping the factory ECM ?

-- Joe
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Old Sep 13, 2022 | 10:50 AM
  #3  
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From: Imperial Pa
Car: 89 formula 350
Engine: 5.7
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by anesthes
Hundreds of different combos, depending on what you want to do. The ebay single plane EFI manifold and 4bbl throttle body is a cheap and good choice. Miniram works great too.

What year is the block? Keeping the factory ECM ?

-- Joe
Thanks. Its an 89 and I was thinking of keeping the ecm since I just spent 200 to have it fixed. Was having fan issues. I'm having a hard time finding choices cuz alot of stuff isn't available or its going to be a while. And like you said lots of combos. If I have to change out the fuel pump I would. Im not looking for crazy hp. Dont want to mess with the rear. Just a noticeable bump.
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Old Sep 13, 2022 | 10:57 AM
  #4  
anesthes's Avatar
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From: SALEM, NH
Car: '88 Formula
Engine: LC9
Transmission: 4L60E
Axle/Gears: 3.89 9"
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by Briar
Thanks. Its an 89 and I was thinking of keeping the ecm since I just spent 200 to have it fixed. Was having fan issues. I'm having a hard time finding choices cuz alot of stuff isn't available or its going to be a while. And like you said lots of combos. If I have to change out the fuel pump I would. Im not looking for crazy hp. Dont want to mess with the rear. Just a noticeable bump.
Unfortunately, the factory heads and intake are poor flowing on these cars. To 'wake them up' you really need to do heads, intake, cam, exhaust or if keeping the engine stock a small turbo or supercharger.

A couple years ago I did a CC305 cam on a LT1 I build, ported heads, exhaust. Car makes over 400 horsepower and is great on the street with a 6 speed. I imagine the same cam with some aftermarket heads, and a miniram or stealthram intake would make close to the same horsepower. My LT1 is 11:1 compression, but I can get away with that due to the reverse cooling. The SBC probably keep it 10.5:1 or under.

-- Joe
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Old Sep 13, 2022 | 07:50 PM
  #5  
Briar's Avatar
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From: Imperial Pa
Car: 89 formula 350
Engine: 5.7
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by anesthes
Unfortunately, the factory heads and intake are poor flowing on these cars. To 'wake them up' you really need to do heads, intake, cam, exhaust or if keeping the engine stock a small turbo or supercharger.

A couple years ago I did a CC305 cam on a LT1 I build, ported heads, exhaust. Car makes over 400 horsepower and is great on the street with a 6 speed. I imagine the same cam with some aftermarket heads, and a miniram or stealthram intake would make close to the same horsepower. My LT1 is 11:1 compression, but I can get away with that due to the reverse cooling. The SBC probably keep it 10.5:1 or under.

-- Joe
Thanks Joe. Ill get to seeing what heads are available. I wasnt planning on doing them but seems the proper starting point.
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Old Sep 16, 2022 | 12:45 PM
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Car: 1988 Trans Am
Engine: L03
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 10 Bolt 2.73 Open
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by Briar
I have a very good 350 that the intake manifold is not happy with the block.
Is this the issue you are fighting with the current setup?

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Old Sep 16, 2022 | 12:52 PM
  #7  
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From: Imperial Pa
Car: 89 formula 350
Engine: 5.7
Re: Where should I start and with what?

Originally Posted by DynoDave43
Is this the issue you are fighting with the current setup?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekwNIYCRrM&t=297s
kind of. It has a pretty large gap in the valleys and I'm not getting a good seal with my gasket on the back. I thought about having the manifold machined but don't know how that works. Dont they need the car/engine to know what is out of whack? I've torn it apart 3 times in about a year. Each time trying something alittle different. Think its time to do something alot different. Thanks for the vid!
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Old Sep 16, 2022 | 01:34 PM
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Re: Where should I start and with what?

The question too is what you're willing to do tuning-wise.

Something like a miniram or stealth ram is going tk require significant retuning as theyre difficult to get just right.

Otherwise probably get a high flow TPI set up.
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