my stepfather has a L69 engine in his garage. engine is a "dust collector". he has a TPI 305 thats going in his 84 camaro that the L69 came from. I have an L03 in my 89 RS. is there anything i can do with this engine? it was a solid engine when i came out of his car, relatively low millage. what are the chances of mounting my TBI unit on this engine and would i be able to keep this '84 engine emission legal in my 89. i know internally the L69 is a much more stout engine. how much a difference is there between the 2. how much better is the L69? i know my L03 has an awful cam, weak heads, and a restricted manifold. are the exuast manifolds off the L69 much better than my L03 manifolds? are the worth the time and energy to try and use them? could i use the L69 heads on my L03? basically is there anything i can do with what i have, having access to this engine and basically have free parts at my disposal?

 

Technically, it isn't legal to use the L69 in your car, since its from an older car. You are only supposed to use the same year or newer engines. But really, who's going to look?

The TBI will work just fine on the L69 engine. The only difference between the HO cars and TBI cars, aside from induction, is:

- HO has better exhaust manifolds
- HO had a bigger exhaust system
- HO had (debatable) better heads
- HO had a somewhat bigger and more performace oriented camshaft.

The TBI system should work just fine on an L69 long block, but may or may not be a worthwhile swap, performance wise, because the HP and TQ numbers for either motor weren't a whole lot different.

(190hp, 240 ft-lbs for the HO, and 170hp, 250 ft-lbs (?) for the TBI)

 

you could swap the log exhaust manifolds, and the heads. The cam was flat tappet, and yours is roller I think.

The exhaust, maybe is worth the energy, the rest is barely worth the time wrenching.

 

****** the heads and get yourself an lt1 cam for your longblock. then put a good intake manifold on it with a tbi adapter (something like the holley street dominator intake) then a set of headers and your on your way to a solid 275-300hp combo(flywheel) once you learn how to tune the car.

 

on my stepfathers engine it used individual belts. on my engine it uses serpintine belt systems. are the heads interchangeable becuase of this small difference? what about the mounting location for the alternator, a/c compressor, and power steering pump. if the heads are the same i would consider using them.

 

the accessory bolt holes are the same on the older style 416 casting heads. the only thing your gonna possibly have problems with is if you try to use your factory intake. the ones on your car (87 and up) have a slightly different bolt pattern. the bolts are in the same physical spot, but the center two bolts (we're talking where the intake bolts to the heads here) are at a 72* angle instead of the 90* angle of the older style heads(86 and older). the solution is to run an aftermarket intake for the older style bolt pattern. i'm personally a fan of the holley street dominator intake manifold. with a tbi adapter plate, you can still run your tbi unit on it. you may run into some hood clearance issues running this intake with your factory air cleaner, the solution would be a drop base air filter assembly.

when you do all of this, it would be a good idea to upgrade the camshaft. again, the lt1 cam is great and works with your factory lifters. put in a new timing chain at the same time. i'd look on ebay and the classifieds here to find a good condition used one (used roller cams work great, we've got a used lt1 cam in my buddy's ride). also, do the headers and exhaust.

i'd budget about $2000 to do all of this and i'd suggest you do it all at once. also, you will HAVE to tune the car with the prom. there are guys on here (in the tbi forum) that can help you with that. also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go through the cylinder heads and have a fresh valve job put on them and whatnot.

hope that helps.