Tired of LB9 junk.
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Cary, NC
Car: 1986 IROC-Z/28
Engine: LB9 TPI
Transmission: 700r4
Tired of LB9 junk.
"Oh its only a 305"
"How does it only get 200hp lmao"
"Manual? No?"
"All it does is make noise"
"Haha your car runs like scooby doo"
TIRED OF IT.
Need a 350. This piece of crap can barely carry its own weight. What I mainly want is neck snapping torque.
Pops says I should get bigger gears first then move on to swapping engines, I kinda wanted to put a Edelbrock 2012 cam in it first.
Anywho... if I just want to slap a 350 block on my 86 lb9 tpi whats my best option?
"How does it only get 200hp lmao"
"Manual? No?"
"All it does is make noise"
"Haha your car runs like scooby doo"
TIRED OF IT.
Need a 350. This piece of crap can barely carry its own weight. What I mainly want is neck snapping torque.
Pops says I should get bigger gears first then move on to swapping engines, I kinda wanted to put a Edelbrock 2012 cam in it first.
Anywho... if I just want to slap a 350 block on my 86 lb9 tpi whats my best option?
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Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 13,579
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From: Readsboro, VT
Car: 85 IROC-Z / 88 GTA
Engine: 403 LSx (Pending) / 355 Tuned Port
Transmission: T56 Magnum (Pending) / T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42 / ?
Re: Tired of LB9 junk.
not sure why you want to waste your time with a cam if your plan is to replace the whole motor.
I do agree with your father though... if you don't have good gears now, those will provide a tremendous improvement. I think that 3.42 gears are the sweet spot for a TPI vehicle. With the 700R4, they make for a 1st gear that's a lot of fun, but still has good fuel economy in OD. If your car has less than 3.23 gears now, I'd definitely recommend changing them. The beauty of that change is that it'll be a great compliment to the 350 swap later, so there's no harm in doing it first. Just make sure you remember to upgrade the speedo drive/driven gears too.
I do agree with your father though... if you don't have good gears now, those will provide a tremendous improvement. I think that 3.42 gears are the sweet spot for a TPI vehicle. With the 700R4, they make for a 1st gear that's a lot of fun, but still has good fuel economy in OD. If your car has less than 3.23 gears now, I'd definitely recommend changing them. The beauty of that change is that it'll be a great compliment to the 350 swap later, so there's no harm in doing it first. Just make sure you remember to upgrade the speedo drive/driven gears too.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Cary, NC
Car: 1986 IROC-Z/28
Engine: LB9 TPI
Transmission: 700r4
not sure why you want to waste your time with a cam if your plan is to replace the whole motor. I do agree with your father though... if you don't have good gears now, those will provide a tremendous improvement. I think that 3.42 gears are the sweet spot for a TPI vehicle. With the 700R4, they make for a 1st gear that's a lot of fun, but still has good fuel economy in OD. If your car has less than 3.23 gears now, I'd definitely recommend changing them. The beauty of that change is that it'll be a great compliment to the 350 swap later, so there's no harm in doing it first. Just make sure you remember to upgrade the speedo drive/driven gears too.
Thanks alot!
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iTrader: (2)
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 13,579
Likes: 9
From: Readsboro, VT
Car: 85 IROC-Z / 88 GTA
Engine: 403 LSx (Pending) / 355 Tuned Port
Transmission: T56 Magnum (Pending) / T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42 / ?
Re: Tired of LB9 junk.
373s are a little steep for TPI. These motors make their power at mid and low rpm. 342 is kind of the sweet spot for them. It's been a long time since I looked at gears, but any well known brand should be fine.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
From: Cary, NC
Car: 1986 IROC-Z/28
Engine: LB9 TPI
Transmission: 700r4
Supreme Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 3
From: Malvern, Arkansas
Car: 90 IROC 2-92 Zs blk vert & prpl
Engine: stealth ram brodix track 1 ful port
Transmission: 700r4 4l80e
Axle/Gears: iroc 375 lokr 92 Z 277 pos vert 327
Re: Tired of LB9 junk.
US Gear makes very good gears or look around and find a PBR 89-92 disc brake posi with factory 342 or 345 in a 89 9 bolt.
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iTrader: (2)
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 13,579
Likes: 9
From: Readsboro, VT
Car: 85 IROC-Z / 88 GTA
Engine: 403 LSx (Pending) / 355 Tuned Port
Transmission: T56 Magnum (Pending) / T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42 / ?
Re: Tired of LB9 junk.
Yeah, the 3.42s are a great all around gear. I loved them with my LB9 auto, I loved them when I swapped in my 350, and I loved them when I swapped my T5 in. In all cases, it was a great match for the TPI powerband.
My Corvette (91 TPI 6 speed) had 3.55 gears, and I REALLY liked those. I wouldn't want to go to 3.73s, but the 3.55s were great, especially on the Corvette, which had enough goodies (TPIS base, TPIS runners, 1.6 rockers, etc) that it could breathe a little bit above 5,000 rpm.
My Corvette (91 TPI 6 speed) had 3.55 gears, and I REALLY liked those. I wouldn't want to go to 3.73s, but the 3.55s were great, especially on the Corvette, which had enough goodies (TPIS base, TPIS runners, 1.6 rockers, etc) that it could breathe a little bit above 5,000 rpm.
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