Well, it is time for the TPI to go away in my cousin's 88 GTA. I have a LT1 sitting in the garage that I started tearing apart last night. It came out of a 94 Impala SS. So, here's the plan, and as a word of advisory, I understand this set up isn't optimal, but the budget is limited and the use is for a street cruiser:

Rebuild the LT1. 186,000 miles on the engine, but the cylinder walls/ combustion chambers are clean. New bearings. New rings.

The stock LT1 intake and iron heads are a huge improvement over the TPI crap.

Drill the intake for a distributor and block off the Opti hole.

I picked up a Crane 2032 a few years ago with lifters and pushrods.

LS6 valve springs. 1.6 rocker arms.

New gaskets and seals.

Use the TPI sensors and bolt that sucker in.

Pictures:

 

If you plan on keeping this engine for a while, i would get the cylinders honed (or do it yourself) and get the heads and decks resurfaced.

 

Of course I'll take the dingle ball to the cylinders for a clean-up hone. That's just good practice to ensure the new rings seat properly.

Honestly, this may only be for two or three years with limited use. He's in medical school currently, and graduates next year. So, once those doctor paychecks start rolling in, I'm sure he'll want to build something bigger and better down the line. This is why I haven't really pushed to change the heads or anything.

I got this motor for free, so I'm looking at it as a cheap way to upgrade the heads, cam, and intake on his car. He has a brand new Holley Stealth Ram that came with the car when he bought it that we never installed. So, I'm going to sell that, and that money should finance this build. The valvetrain stuff is all brand new, as well, and we got in a trade for some drag wheels that came with the car at purchase, as well. Yes, I could find a bigger cam, but we already have this one on hand. Coupled with the new LS6 springs that I took off my LS3 heads when I got them for my build, we should be doing alright in keeping things relatively inexpensive.

 

I've read through this a few times, and I'm not sure I completely understand what you're doing. Are you putting the LT1 heads & intake on the TPI engine, or putting the LT1 engine in the car, and running it with the TPI system?

 

I think the car has a TPI engine in it currently, and he's swapping that out for an LT1 engine.

 

No need for a bigger cam or to buy something if you already have it if it's only going to be for a couple years. It should be a decent motor either way

 

Except:
"The stock LT1 intake and iron heads are a huge improvement over the TPI crap."

"Drill the intake for a distributor and block off the Opti hole."

So it doesn't sound like a complete LT1 system swap.

 

True, I'm going off the "Rebuild the LT1" from the first post.

 

And later, "I'm looking at it as a cheap way to upgrade the heads, cam, and intake on his car."

Hence the confusion...

 

The entire LT1 is going in the car, but we'll be using the TPI harness to run the motor. This is why I'm drilling the LT1 intake for a distributor and eliminating the Optispark all together.