hey my friend has a 87 TA with a 305TPI and he just told me that he found a 350 he is going to build up and drop in there......he said that he was going to put a carb on there and stuff.....and i told him that he should prolly stay with the TPI cuz his computer and stuff is already set up for it......what should he do?? which will cost the least??

any tips would REALLY help....thanks!!

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84TA T-tops L-69 305HO TH-700R4 stock 190hp and 240 ft-lbs.
best E.T. (dont laugh) 15.997 @86.04mph
http://www.geocities.com/K_towngangsta

 

It really comes down to "the package". A 350 with a mild cam will run well with minor mods like porting the plenum, adding an AFPR, perhaps a chip. Exhaust upgrades will help a 305, so should be considered mandatory for a 350.

To really establish an answer to your question, more decisions need to be made: What will be the primary use for this car? Are the cam, induction and exhaust being matched to the heads and vice versa? How much money is he willing to spend?

If going with a high-powered, high-reving, primarily race engine, then the obvious answer is to go carb and match all the pieces accordingly. If this is a daily driver, TPI is a good street system for driveability and economy. If it will be something in between, then a decision has to be made on what is going to be sacrificed. If emissions is part of the equation, then the discussion is over - TPI.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, World 305 heads, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat & 3" cat-back).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlock header mufflers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, LT MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1/95.5 @ 5800' Bandimere.

 

well i dont think he wants to spend A LOT of money on this.....but what i was wondering was.....will his computer in his car b able to work fine with the carb and stuff.....and will he have to do a lot to convert it???

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84TA T-tops L-69 305HO TH-700R4 stock 190hp and 240 ft-lbs.
best E.T. (dont laugh) 15.997 @86.04mph
http://www.geocities.com/K_towngangsta

 

A TPI computer won't do anything with a carb. If you are talking about a CC carb, that is especially true. But, you probably mean converting to a non-feedback carb and distributor, so the computer will just be going along for the ride from now on. If he has an automatic, the torque convertor will no longer lock, but a kit is available to take care of this.

The least expensive way to do this would be with a mild 350 and keep the TPI. The mods would be minor (exhaust is the biggie, more injection either through higher regulator pressure or larger injectors another consideration).

One thing you didn't mention was emissions. If you have to go through it, don't plan on making it w/non-CC carb. You'l get about a dozen people saying "Go with carb, you'll love it", but that is ignoring things like tuning and economy, needing new parts like intake, carb & distributor, and changing wiring under the hood.