what do i have to do to put my tpi on a 78 molde block . i have 1978 383 short block and want to put it in my 88 GTA. what motor comes in the 88 gta tpi 5.7. any info would help alot .

 

You either have to buy different heads or buy a tpi base that is designed for older style small blocks.

 

Unbolt. Rebolt.

TPI does not care what block is under it. It does care about the heads however. They need to have the right bolt holes for whichever style of intake you have; you say you have a 88 car, so your intake probably has the later intake bolt angle, you may need to slot the center 2 holes on each side.

What heads do you plan on using?

 

i have a nice set of apr heads . if i have to i wilol use the stock heads and have them worked . and put the apr on my truck .

 

Well then, as long as your AFR heads have the correct intake bolt angle for your particular TPI intake, they will bolt right up. Or you cn have your intake altered if necessary.

 

wait a minuet i can put tpi on a older block without buying a $2000 after market one, the heads that fit the tpi intake will fit the older block?

 

sorry one more question will lt1 work the same

 

Yes.

The LT1 is a different matter...

 

you need to poke a hole in it for a distrib

 

so everything will fit the older block fine. i met have to work on a few bolt holes . other then that it will work fine . thank u for all u guy help .:hail: :hail: :hail:

 

there has to be a draw back!

 

it sounds way to easy . .

 

what do you think 88gtakev no way it's as easy as they say. anyway does anyone have more info.

 

ok i guess i will try this next weekend and see . thanks guys for all the help .

 

from what i understand, you can use any block. You need to use the center bolt heads or perimeter bolt heads. If you use perimeter bolt heads though, you need to make sure they came off of a TPI motor. But you can use any centerbolt heads. For instance, you can use your '78 block, put on som '87 L98 heads and TPI and you'll be set. Hope this helps. correct me if i'm wrong. Good luck

 

what size 52or 58 would u guys use with a 383 ( cam 224/234 lift is 488/510.

 

i think you'll be able to get away with the stock TB. You don't really need to go bigger unless you're sucking some serious power from it. A friend of mine is going mid 10's with a stock TB. If you have $350 burning a hole in your pocket, go for it, but you can spend it on something better IMO.

 

is that 10' in the 1/8 or 1/4. i'm looking for low to mids 7's in the 1/8. i have to beat my blazer at least . it run 7.40's to 7.50 's at 99 mph back to back . with a little smaller cam then that . thank for all help .

is that 10 in the 1/4 thats dam good
is it in the 1/8 which is slow . this will help me make my mind to by a 52 or 58 .

 

It's in the 1/4. His best run was a 10.490. LT1, aftermarket heads, cam, intake manifold, SLP headers, full exhaust with no cats, underdrive pulleys, full MSD egniton, NX N20 system with a 125 shot, 4.10 limited slip rear, quite a bit of suspension work and a bunch of other little stuff. Its pretty built. I'm sorry to say it, but your goal of mid 7's is a little crazy. These cars just arent that quick. You'd need to go with something more than a 350....way more. Sorry if i misunderstood you and you actually meant 7's in the 1/8 mile. Now thats more reasonable.

 

If you use the right SBC heads, its a direct bolt in with no problems. If you use the wrong SBC heads, its a matter of grinding/drilling on the center 4 bolts of the intake base so you can put all the bolts in. Its not that hard to do. Yours is an 88, so I'll assume the TPI is 88 as well. If you use heads for a car thats 87-up (with the center 4 bolts at a different angle, 72 degrees instead of 90) then there are no issues. Use earlier ones, you have to modify the bolt holes in the intake base. Aftermarket manifolds generally come with both already setup.

 

For those heads that have too many intake bolt holes, the old style holes are drilled into water jackets most of the time, so you have to be careful of that. Like everyone says, all blocks are pretty much the same. LT1 block is screwy, in-block water pump, no hole for dist, backwards flowing coolant system. Lots of work there.

 

what if you use an early tpi like 85 would you be able to use older heads?

 

Yes.

 

with a sbc it easy to get in to the 7's . all my carb motor have been there somewhere . i just don't know about useing the tpi . on a carb you can put a 750 or a 850 holly on it with a good cam and head and u will be there . with the tpi i'm, useing a 383 sbc . it should get there no problems ( i hope ) or the tpi will come off for a carb . the track i use is the 1/8 mile i don't like 1/4 that much . i know on the carb side u have to run an 850 carb but with fuel inj. i don't know how what size of stuff i need to feed my 383 ( cam 488/510) . thank for everyone help . :hail: :hail: <<<<<<<<1/8 mile 0 to 100 aS FAST AS U CAN GET THERE .

 

Check the classifieds, there are always LT1 conversion manifolds, or stealth rams or mini rams there. All you really need is a new base and runners to wake up the tired TPI. It should be easy enough to run 9 in the 1/8th with a TPI.