I have a 2.8 v6 Camaro right now. Im looking to do a v8 fuel injected motor swap. I know its alot of work and money. Just wondering what should i get?
Which is the best out of them and not destroy my back account. What do you guys think?
Also how much HP should i put into it? I was thinking 400? Also does anyone know how fast the 0 - 60 or 1/4 mile is with 400 HP?

 

How much money do you have to spend. Give us a number and we will tell you what you can afford.

Power is nothing if you can't put it to the ground. Weight plays a large part in 1/4 times.

 

Well how can i put the most power to the wheels? And im not looking to strip any parts off my Camaro. Its going to be a street car. Not sure about the money. I need to save more

 

I've had the same question the past year and half of owning a thirdgen with a V6. Ram Jet imo not worth it when you can go LS1 for the same price. LT1 cheap easy swap something worth looking into. LS1 and LS2 is probably what your looking for simple mods and 400hp is easily doable. price is expensive. New LS2 go for 6k just the engine. I think some have displacement of demand to help your gas milage. TPI now theres a cheap swap cheapest and easyest out of all, all you need a donor car, swap all the parts and BAM! your done.

 

whatever you do go ls something you wont regret it

 

well say i buy a new 350tpi from ebay or something and it says 400hp motor. HOW can i tell what the wheels are getting? And how much hp you think i should go with?
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Whats the t - ram?

 

My choices for desirability, in ascending order, would be:
TPI
Ram Jet
LT1
LS1
LS2

The cost, in ascending order, would be:
TPI
LT1
Ram Jet
LS1
LS2

Balancing desirability and cost, I'd go LS1. Ram Jet would probably be last on that list.

 

Go with an LSx. They are superior to any Gen I small block. You can still run a carb on it if you want too.

In regards to TPI: A lot of people on this site love it to death, but face it, it's 25-30 year old technology. It's not wine, it doesn't get better with age.

You'd have to take it to a dyno. Just because the motor made 400 hp doesn't mean they had headers on it that will fit your car or accessories. The best way to tell what the motor will do is to have it in your car, with your set up (Headers, accessories, transmission ect)

You'll also get different results from dyno to dyno. I've heard a dyno is really just a accurate measure for telling horsepower gains. You do one run, then mod, and do another run and the horsepower change that it will tell you will be accurate.

 

Ok, cool, so the 400hp motor doesnt mean im getting 400 at wheels. i know that. so what gives you the best hp to the wheels? Rear?Tranny? And i would have to dyno to find out how much to wheels?
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Are the tpi motors 4 bolt? And if i bought a parts car v8 camaro would the tranny 700r4? Bolt right to the ls1,lt1,ls2,lsx?

 

I think you lose roughly 18 percent of the flywheel horsepower when you're going through a manual transmission. You loose more if you go through an automatic.

TPI has nothing to with being 4 bolt. If its a stock camaro or corvette motor, it will be a 2 bolt. But you can build up a 4 bolt block and put a tpi on it. That would be sort of overkill in my book. A 2 bolt will work just fine at the power levels you are looking at. The 700r4 will not bolt to an LSx easily. Honestly, I see you're new to the game. Put in a carbed small block. It's easiest and cheapest.

 

Lol yea i am new, i dont want carb though. I like fuel injection. Carb sucks in winter and sucks more gas. So the ls1, ls2 will bolt right to a 700r4? so if i get a 400hp motor im only getting like 320. that sucks. Would it be safe to buy a rebuilt motor from ebay? I really liked this one. its tpi all chrome (for look) 400hp. 3 year unlimited mile warranty

 

What's the fastest car you've ever driven? LSx need different motor mounts. It's not just a drop in like a Gen I small block. No, the 700r4 will not just bolt to it. The bellhousings are different and I believe the input shafts are different. I know on the T56 it is this way.

 

well the cheapest is again the old junkyard rebuilt 350 w/ carb.

the next cheapest but the biggest pain in the butt is the TPI. If you like to tune and tune and tune burning chips to get the power you want then TPI is for you. Then get aftermarket heads, whole intake, TB etc. It gets pricey quick too.

LSX is the the most expensive. Also takes alot of time to retro fit it into your car. about 5K if you are really good at shopping for engine trans and ECM. Then you need the engine mounts, crosmember if you go T56 4th gen tank yadda yadda yadda. BUT IMO it's worth it. I get a hand tuner answer some yes and no and i'm done. no reading the DIY prom board for a month. It's real expensive but i'll tell you what a LS1 has tons of power potential.

also you could take the path less travled. Do 350 or 383 TBI. Now it's extremely involved to tune it and you need a 454 TBI and some other things, but no hacking up the whole wiring system. And you would make TPI guys everywhere hate you for life


HP = your wallet size and/or thriftyness/fab skills/ connections

 

Fastest car i been in was probly 350z. What you think about that? And how would the tpi compair to that?

 

LT1 is my vote, you can do it cheaper than the others, the performance is great, the drivability is awesome, working on it is a LOT easier than TPI when you actually do need to work on it.

Your only decision should be which transmission to go with, 4L60E, T5, or T56.

 

ok not sure how much hp i want. what u guys thinking

 

LT1 is very affordable and easy from about 275-440 RWHP.

 

the only immediate draw back from the LT1 is the horrible ignition system that needs replaced. Aftermarket and even summit have packages. You could replace stuff when it goes bad but it always happens at the worst time. I know they can be reilable once that is fixed. And yes they are very affordable compared to LSx.

 

Now how can i tell if the motor can hand 400hp? and is 400hp bad *** or how much should i go with?

 

You should sell your V6 and buy a V8 car.

 

Cant, my mom gave it to me when i was 14. now im 19 and she passed away when i was 17. I got it painted all black with corvette white stripes, and so much done to it. It means to much to me.

 

Then buy a car with a V8 and keep your current one. In my opinion, you've got a long way to go to swap a motor if you're saying things like:

No offense or anything. Just telling you the way it seems. You should have a goal and be able to put together a rough idea build-up on paper; if you can't do that how are you going to swap in a motor? A V6 to V8 swap is a lot more expensive and time consuming (often associated with "difficult") than a V8 to V8 swap.

Again, knowing how much money you plan on spending is nice.

Good luck, keep us updated.

 

Right, because the worn out motor mounts and restrictive stock exhaust manifolds make swapping much much cheaper.

 

I don't know if you were being sarcastic or not, but there's a lot more involved than that.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...swap-read.html

 

I would have to say that that is a a issue if the car is not taken care of, I have a lt1 in my 92 and have had no issues and the wifes 96 has 90k miles with no issues

 

What i was thinking about doing was getting a rebuilt ( all chrome just for look ) TPI motor from ebay or somewhere. I saw one for $3500. Getting a z28 with blown motor, and having a garage do all the swapping. They said if i have everything then they only charge $1500. What you guys think?

 

Why not just buy a decent IROC for 4k?

 

Oh really a LOT more huh ? 90-92 cars all have the same radiator, so it isnt different, and doing a swap with an LTX or LSX you dont retain the transmission. Anyone with sense uses headers and a catback. Doing a worthwhile swap with a LT1 or LS1 the only thing that will help you any is an LT1 swap being able to reuse the V8 mounts, the LS1 thats out the window.

Please dont try to lecture me on how much extra or worthwhile getting a V8 car is, i've done about a dozen swaps in thirdgens and know using a V6 car and installing an LTx or LSx is much better 9 times out of 10 than trying to get a V8 car for no gain.

 

The reason i dont want an iroc is becuase i love my car and i want to make it a show car. No sense in haveing a nice painted, and lots of custom things done to camaro with v6 and buying an 8 car. I just do 8 in my car and finish the car show thing.
Z28***** - how bad is the swap from 6 - 8? Just going from 6 - maybe tpi or ls1? Would 5k cover it?

 

5K will easily cover an LT1 swap done properly and easily, auto or T56

5K you can pull off an LS1 swap with an auto if you try hard, but wouldnt come out as nice.

I personally wouldnt waste my time with a TPI swap, or putting forth the effort modifying a TPI engine, but hey thats my opinion and its based off of a lot of research and experience.

 

The only thing i like about the tpi better is the look. I love the look in it in chrome. I dont like the lt1 look at all and the ls1 i like but not chrome. Im more into look then perfomance but i would like some performance. I got a few more questions if its not a problem
1. What do you preffer? LT1 or LS1? And LS2 is to much work for swap?
2. What should i do to a tpi motor to make it atleast 400hp to wheels?
3. What motor was in your z?
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Forgot to ask. Does the 5k for the swaps u answered about cover the parts car?

 

if you're more into looks than performance and looking for a cheaper method,
stick with the tpi.
If your willing to trade pretty for real hp,then ls1 or 2 is what you want.
These can be made pretty also.

 

imo V6 is the best way to do an LS1 swap.

 

Seriously? Did we forget about suspension on a v6 swap? And some people do reuse the stock transmission. Hands down v8 to v8 is cheaper and easier. Now it's silly to reuse the stock V8 parts (excluding suspension) but some people do. It sounds to me like this is one of those circumstances.

As for the opti why does eveyone hate it so much? It is an awesome system. It does have a problem with failure if mistreated i.e. leaky water pump. But you don't need to even set base timing. I've used the same opti for 100k miles. I thought it finally died on me but it turned out to be the cap and rotor were so worn down it was misfiring.

I would say LT1 is the best choice dollar for dollar to do it right. get a 94 or 95 since they are OBD1 and you can tune it with a computer. No flashing required like the 93. No crazy expensive OBDII scanners/programmers.

 

Thanks. Now, how much hp do u guys like or think about? Like i wanna be able to do nice *** donuts, burnouts, and beat mustangs so how much should i be looking to get? Should i get a motor off ebay?

 

300 hp at the flywheel would be a big difference from what you have now. Torque is what you want though. That's what registers on the *** dyno.

Again, if you absolutely have to keep your car now, you're best off finding a cheap running 350 TPI, and swapping it in. You said you like the looks, it'll give you decent performance, and the parts are plentiful. Find a wrecked (in the rear) 350 tpi car that's still running good and swap all the suspension and motor.

 

Thank you for all your help.

 

Even swapping in a stock 350 tpi wouldn't be all that bad. It will be the CHEAPEST thing to do, and you can always bolt on some mods down the road when you have the money and feel the need for some more power.

 

First off the LS1 is much lighter engine, some people use V6 springs to make the ride hight close to stock. Iirc the LS1 is light than V6? Aren't the fuel lines in the correct place for the LS1 with a V6? And you can use the sending the unit. What about a 5.3L?

 

how much hp is the stock tpi putting to the wheels? and what kinda mods? i know i want a cam. They make the car sound bad ***.

 

yes if you maintain the optispark well then it's okay. it seems i hear alot of LT1 guys asking for the vented optispark or aftermarket. But no dizzy on the LS1.

alsoi a 5.3 swap is SUPER cheap. Theay are everywhere and I see them recently going for 2-3K less if you find a deal (including PCM and all the wiring. It's only a 327 but exhaust, heads and other things down the road would make it a real nice fast ride. maybe not as much power as a 6.0 but also half the price without half the horsepower. The only other thing to consider is 5.3 vs. LT1. simular in price but what is the power potential vs. reliability?

And yes the TPI looks good chromed but is being done so much and most car guys know that it is done b/c of budget.

 

I'm just thinking about this guy in particular. True an ls1 is MUCH lighter then any iron block BUT it's a money to make it fit in there, New gas tank, new mounts, new this, new that. And this guy is asking how much HP to put into it!

Looking at his level of knowledge and the possibilities for a good running DD swap. TPI would be good for an easy install if he stays stock. LT1 would better if he does any upgrades.

No offense but unless you are willing to do a lot of learning and research I'd stick with something OBDI and basic SBC design.

 

EXACTLY my point. But go ahead guys. Make this an 8 page thread about an LS1 swap that will never happen.

Like I said. Find a wrecked 350 TPI car and swap everything over. With the questions you are asking about horsepower, a stock 350 TPI motor will be a good starting place for you. You clearly have a lot of information to read up on. A stock motor will be plenty to start with. Plus, half the fun it's doing mods over time and noting the progress of your car over time.

Basic concept:
Pick 2:
Fast, Reliable, Cheap

But hey, what do I know, I'm a ****ing moron. I don't even own a Camaro and I don't race, so you're best off listening to the know all guys with the stock 305 TBIs with all "street racing" experience.

Let us know how it's coming.

 

I would buy a SBC 4bolt main with good forged internals (short block) then spec out some good heads and just keep a eye out for a deal on used parts for the intake. Dyno it and tune it! If it makes 300rwhp then buy a Nitrous kit and spray 100hp shot. On that block and right tune and pluges no problems at all. Great streetablity. Oh keep a 700r4 (nice on the street) gears 3.42-3.73 and after dyno look at the power curve and pick a good stall.

To go as fast as possible with 400hp you will be giving up things.
I.E weight,gears,stall,tires,ect...

Should be able to to with for anything from $3000-$4000.

 

I'm going to agree with him. 87Cam its obvious that your Camaro means alot to you since it was a gift from your mother. I would do everything in my power to just keep it clean, stock, and in good shape. Buy a second car to chop up and modify. You'll thank us for making this suggestion in 20 years or so. Trust me.

 

Agree with you 100%, TPI best way to go in this case. 350 TPI stock have a lot of torque. Great starting place. Start by replacing the heads and intake, add on a little spray and your haulin ***. Do you want a manual or automatic?

 

Im looking to keep automatic. I know i have alot to learn about motors. I like cars and all but im more into look then performance but i do need some ***** lol. Im not looking to buy another car and make it a modded car. I want to make my car the nice look, and performance. I just need something to beat the stangs and *****s and look nice for car shows. Would i want more torque or hp? And why. I want fast off line and beat then stangs and *****s. Also sound bad ***.
Any info on my questions quys?
Also i thank you all for all your help so far. Really helping me. I mean it. If i didnt i wouldnt keep looking into this thread.

 

To do this you need money, and lots of it. All these ultra nice cars you see on this site cost thousands of dollars to build. You can either go fast or look good, but not both (for cheap at least). That's up to you.

Don't worry about "beating" people. Someone will always kick your *** on the street. You don't have enough money to be fast. Build a car that suits your needs. Don't worry about "mustangs or *****s".

You need a car that's reliable. The more you modify, more often than not, the more you end up repairing later because the reliability of your vehicle gets worse. I doubt you want a car that's in the garage half the time.

Your best bet is to start looking for a wrecked 350 TPI car. That in itself is going to be expensive, unless you have a truck and trailer to go get it.

And you do know that you're doing this the most expensive and difficult way by not just buying an additional V8 to drive around? That would be the best thing to do. Then you'd actually have a V8 to drive, you could see what you think of it, come on the site and ask for info on mods. Right now we are just trying to explain something to you that you'll never understand; you need to experience it.

 

well put.......

 

You can either waste a lot of time and money installing an L98, with 245 HP and 345 tq, which is a pain to work on, and doesnt respond well to mods, or you can spend around the same installing an LT1, you'll have 300 HP to start with, they respond much better to modifications, and it will be easier to work on.

LT1/4L60E - $1000-$1800
Engine Mounts $100 (poly), or $20 rubber
Hoses, $300 total
Wiring $400
Cable box for speedometer $250 iirc
Fuel pump(recommended) $125
Radiator $125
Intake boot $70
Headers / Y pipe / Exhaust $700
A/C - $150-300- Dont know if you have a/c or not

So 3-4k, done, fully hooked up for about 325 Flywheel HP, its reasonably cheap, it will be EFI, drive great, be easy to work on.

Or hey you can stick with the guys who are still stuck in the 80's trying to get TPI's to go fast.