hey, k, im trying to take out a tpi v6 out of my buddys 8 camaro, and put in a 350, all in about a week. now, i know you all think im crazy, but i have the drive. i already took the 350 out of a huge truck, in the rain, in a field, at 2degrees, and it was windy, all in one day. then the next day i took out a 305 in the same spot out of a nother camaro (for parts). basicaly, im wondering what wireing harness i should use. i dont know if the one fromt he old camaro will fit into the newer ones ecu. basicaly, im asking if i can use the 88 v6 tpi wireing for the carb. 350. i checked and noticed right away that the distributer conections are diffent, could i just cut the plugs off and solder on the right ones? and does the tach for the v6 run off the distributer like it does for the v8. and will the started wires all work. and will the new 5spd tranny bolt on to wear the old 5spd did? i theres just a couple of things im just worried about getting stuck on. mainly the distributer, cause thats all the wireing i need to get it atleast running! has anyone done this swap before? ill need all the help i can get, so whatever i can get is GREAT. thanks everyone!

ps. heres a pic of what i did. this is the 350 when it came out of the van

 

You may have to extend some wires, like the alternator, but otherwise, yes, you can use the V6 harness like you described.

The V6 tach has a different calibration than the V8 (resistor on a circuit board held on with studs/nuts to the back of the tach). Either put in a V8 tach, or replace that circuit board.

 

ok, so the V6 is now out, the V8 is in, and almost running. everything is buttoned up, headers on, carb, intake, colant lines, fuel (with a new fuel regulator), everything. we have fuel, we have spark (new plugs), but the danm thing doesnt seem to be in time. i timed it to the first time to the exhaust stroke the first time (at least i think i did), so i took the dis. out and timed it again to what i thought is the intake stroke. it sounded better, but my dad flooded it (bloody idiot), so now i have to wait till tomarow. anyways, before he flooded it it sounded better, but still backfired and stuff. are there any tricks at timing these things? im going to try turning the rotor a bit one way, try to start it, and then turn it the other way, just to see if that helps. i realy just want to get it started and running. any help and that would be great.
ps. this is day four, ive been putting in 12 hour days doing this 5 day swap, and its Almost done

 

Did you ever get it started or are you still having problems with the dis? if you are....

Your distributor may be in 180 degrees , or backwards. It will backfire and fire will shoot out of headers or carb - not good. So it may be in 180 degrees off. To change this, take out the distributor and take a long screw driver and in the bottom you will see a slit, turn it the opposite it is now, or 180 degrees. This may be why the timing is off. This is what happened to me when i put a 350 in my v6 firebird, changed that, and it started.

 

I'm pretty sure that the v6 was mpfi....Haven't heard of a tpi v6 unless it was a custom setup...

 

hey guys! so the engine is in and RUNNING!!! turns out i forgot to plug in the fuel cut off switch (the thing that cuts out the fuel pump if there is no oil pressure), so it was running off of the fuel when it was primed, but would just run out of gas in a couple of seconds. so i just connected the switch, turned it over and it started up No problem. now its just the small things that we have to dink around with. such as new front springs cause its bottoming out, new dist. just because, new carb cause that was the plan (to get it running on the original carb, then get a new one), and some other stuff. OH k, the tranny is a little screwed. so we used the stock hydrolic clutch off the V6 engine, and now when you apply the clutch, it seems like its only half engaged!!! is there a way to adjust it????? its almost imposible to put it into first gear, and very hard for all the others, and when your at a stop, if you take the brake off the car will start to roll forward and such, so i know that the clutch just isnt fully engaged (oh, and if the car is off, then its easy to put it through the gears!), any suggestions???

 

Bleed the lines, it might not be strong enough to work a v8 clutch...since it's for a v6...ya know...

 

well that would realy suck if it isnt strong enough. but ill try that. is there any way to adjust the clutch (like at the peddal or the cylinder), do get a longer throw??

 

I am thinking of pulling my v6 and installing a v8. Mine will just be carbed. did you use the computer with your v8? You guys didn't make this to look factory did YOu? Or was this just a plain jane v8 swap using what wires you needed from the v6 to get it running. How bad was it really? How much did it cost? how did you get the tach to work?

 

we used the v6 wireing harnes and computer. youll have to cut and solder on the distributer plugs from the v8 harness, the v6 ones wont fit into the dizzy. the wires should be one pink, and one white. they are realy easy to fine (they are thos colors for bothe the v8 and v6 dizzys). we didnt make it look stock, its far from stock, its sexy! ill try to post a pic. now, make srue that the clutch fork is installed CORECTLY!!! we just dropped the tarnny, cause the clutch wasnt working, and the fork tongs werent both in, one was out of the groove. so now we fixed it, and now we have to put the tranny back on (this is all on cement floor, im sure you all know what what i mean when i say its a pain in the neck. are you going from a fuel injected v6 to a carbed v8? if so, dont worry about the wireing (like you probably are), its very easy. youjust have to change the dizzy plugs, and make sure you keep the fuel shut off switch. we forgot that, so we put jerry riged it! if you dont reemmber, youll try to start the engine, and itll start for about 3 sec. and then cut out cause of no fuel, so dont forget that! good luck with the switch, i hope you do it. its realy easy, just be prepared to fool around with the mounts. good luck

 

so what does the computer still control. You've unhooked the FI,maf, and all the other sensors. what if I just get a HEI from summit or accel I won't need to change plugs. Would I need a dizzy from a late model v8 to make the tach work?

 

I pulled the computer out of mine, the PO had just left it in their but it wasn't wired to anything i needed, just a bunch of random sensors on the front end, didn't know what they did so i pulled them too.