My brother has a trans am that is in perfect condition and is broke so he said i could have it. I was wondering how hard it would be to convert it to tbi because i cannot put tpi on my new crate engine. Do i just get the wiring harness out and just switch them and the ecu? Will every thing on the trans am work right if it has the tbi computer in it such as the 2 fans will they both work?
Thanks
Danny

thanks
danny

 

Why cant you put TPI on the crate engine? It should bethe ame intake manifolda the TBI. If its not then you can just drill out the two center holes on each side and it will work fine.

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*1989 RS
*Red, Daytona Turbo fiberglass hood, chrome 16x8 IROC wheels
*355 CID
*TPI ported plenum, SLP siamesed runners, Edelbrock high flow intake
*Edelbrock TES Headers (getting SLP 1 3/4 this summer)
*Richmond 3.73, Auburn Posi
*Modded 700-R4, 2800 stall converter
*NO recent time slips.

 

Uh, I might be wrong due to the typos, but the intake isn't the same between carb (or TBI) and TPI. No matter how many holes you drill in it. TPI has a funky 2 piece intake setup, while carb (which is what the crate engine was meant for) will be the traditional one piece.
As for the ECM, I have no idea, but I think the TPI guys got quicker reading sensors. Worth the effort if its compatible, in my opinion.

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No guts, no glory.

 

because i have vortec heads. what about the fuel pressure isnt too high for tbi? how can i lower it>?

 

sorry about the typos, something is wrongwith my keyboard and half of the letters i type dont show up for some reason. Actually a TPI setup consists of 4 "funky" peices(intake manifold runners plenum and TB) I thought he meant that it wouldnt bolt up to his heads. I forgot all about vortechs. The vortech TPI manifold stil isnt out and i dont see it happening any time soon, so you might as well go with carb or tbi on that engine.

To answer the original question, all u will need is a new wiring harness, ECM, and a TBI unit that will feed ur engine. Vortechs seem to work real well on TBI engines and you cant beat the price.

good luck

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*1989 RS
*Red, Daytona Turbo fiberglass hood, chrome 16x8 IROC wheels
*355 CID
*TPI ported plenum, SLP siamesed runners, Edelbrock high flow intake
*Edelbrock TES Headers (getting SLP 1 3/4 this summer)
*Richmond 3.73, Auburn Posi
*Modded 700-R4, 2800 stall converter
*NO recent time slips.

 

Scoggin Dickey make a TPI intake that will match your Vortec heads, and also a TBI one. The site is www.sdpc2000.com Just email them and they will tell ya about it.

 

The Scoggin Dickey Vortech TPI intake is not out yet. They've been promising it for months.

I'd switch heads before I switch from TPI to TBI. Carb to TBI yes, but never TPI to TBI.


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1991 Camaro Z28
5.7L 5-Speed (originally 305)
13.23 @ 107.62 MPH
Southern California
Member: SoCal 3rd Gen F-Bodies
Webmaster: SoCal F-Bodies
-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

No don't go backwards. You can have the Vortech heads drilled and tapped for a std. SBC intake. For about $80. It works great. I work for a machine shop and we have the fixture to do this. You can buy the fixture from a lot of machine shop supply companies, so a local machine shop may have one. Or call Scoggin Dickeys and see if they have one, I bet they do. Even if a local machine shop doesn't have the fixture they can still do it without one.

 

I believe SDPC2000.com will sell you the heads already modified for like $50 bucks more for the set... ish