Hi everyone,
I'm helping with fixing up an '89 Trans Am, with a 350 TPI in it. Unfortunately the engine has seized badly due to throwing a rod. It's fairly awful!
We have access to a '89 Corvette engine and we're thinking of swapping that in with some changes. Where we are geographically (New Zealand), we don't have access to the same sort of parts in a cheap way that you might have the luxury on in the USA.
I'm aware the fuel lines are different, and we can grab the fuel lines from the Trans Am TPI engine to rectify that. While the Corvette engine does have an engine harness, it does NOT come with the Corvette ECM. We'd swap over the Trans Am TPI harness and I'd modify to suit if needed.

My questions - Will the factory Trans Am 350 TPI ECM as it is, run the Corvette engine happily? Or, would we need to source the '89 Corvette ARAP chip for it?

If we did need need the ARAP chip, what's so different about the Corvette engine that we'd need this? Is it the aluminium heads? If so, could we get around this by swapping the Trans Am's 350 heads onto the Corvette block?
Anything else I may have missed?

Thanks,
Steven

 

The aluminum heads are the difference, a Corvette tune would be ideal but it'll probably run with the TA 350 tpi tune until you can source a replacement.

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...atic-chip.html

or I can burn a copy or arap with correct fan switch setting

 

Btw, oil pan swap and new oil pump and pickup.
use the Vette intake and f body rails and accessories.
drill a hole and tap of passenger side serpentine bracket.

 

The hole you'll have to drill and tap on the pass head is the one closest to the stamped "R" on my head.
on the early 113 heads like yours, the bolt boss isn't very deep or even non existent so becareful

 

Thank you so much everyone for your replies - so very helpful.

Another Corvette engine has come available now, a 1991 engine. Of course, this has MAP instead of MAF. Assuming I can stuff the Corvette ECU somewhere inside the car, what affect is having a MAP setup going to have in the Trans Am given that we're using headers? I presume the Corvette exhaust manifolds aren't going to work in the F body without some modification.
Any other gottas with the '91 engine?

Thank you,

 

Did the previous engine throw a rod through the old ecm and sever the harness in the process? You can just swap the longblock if you want to keep the '89 a MAF car.

 

Huh, yeah, I should have thought of that myself....
At least by using MAP I wouldn't have to worry about a MAF one day dying

 

to much effort to go map with a ecm
thats designed to be underhood.

 

Thank you, we'll make it MAF

 

I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of converting to MAP but I'd opt for a '7730 ECM instead of using the underhood '7727. The only other thing that I would like to add is between the years '85-'89 and '90-'91 Y-body/'90-'92 F-body there is a difference in knock sensors 100k vs 4k ohm.

 

Thank you for that pro-tip. Will having headers upset the default programming of MAP? I thought I read years ago that MAP is quite sensitive to even a change like this.

 

Why not just use the C4 short block, and use everything else from your original setup. Should run fine.