hey guys, i know im on the wrong message board, but u guys deal with tbi more then the montes do, and a small block is a small block. anyways, i have a 355 that makes peak hp at right around 6000 rpm, what all is involved in a swap like this? and what would u recomend i do, thanks in advance.
justin

 

well i recomend puttting it in but first what do you have as in engine right now? and do you have a tbi set up ready? if not look in to a holley throttle body becasue of its bigger bore and i dont really know if it will hook up directly to a monte but i belive it should but i will warn that the injectors are trash. what does the engine have on it right now?

[This message has been edited by firbird (edited December 05, 2001).]

 

here's the entire setup....355, 10.2:1 pistons, edelbrock rpm aluminum 2.02 heads, rpm cam, rpm 4 barrel intake, edelbrock carb, and msd 6AL ignition, so basically i would need everything, the thing that concerns me the most is i have heard the tbi setups dont flow so well in upper rpm ranges

 

i have head that tbi can rev higher than carb by 300 rpm but it might be false but i am almost 100% tbi can go to 6000 rpm without any problems it might be tpi that you are talking about. are you sure you are talking about tbi? and i am sorry if i did not make it clear but what do you have on your car right now, it is tbi right?? anyways if you can just get a adapter plate and stick it on top of the intake manifold and stick a tbi on top

 

what you do is go buy a 750 duel feed double pumper and be happy you dont have to tune 300 chips or pay someone 400 bucks to give you a "close" chip

 

If you want to take the easy way out get a carb. If you want to take the better way out do the TBI. In all actuality I do not think that a 454 TBI will flow enough for your motor at max RPM. I have done the swap to an older car and it was not easy, but not too difficult. I am totally happy with my results. Now I have a reliable car that does not run rich, and does not act like a turd when it is cold. And I have not sacrificed performance either. Though my motor is relativly stock, the TBI made it run much better better throttle responce, and better drivability.
If you are serious about the swap you are going to need an eprom programmer and a scan tool, and your are going to need to learn how to use them.

If you have any specific questions about the swap shoot me an email.

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69 Chevelle 2dr hardtop blue, bench seats, 12 bolt w/3.73's muncie 4 speed. TBI w/custom harness and prom best 14.5@90

 

Go buy a Holley 4bbl Pro-Jection kit. They're not the cheapest things in the world, but they'll have everything you need for the swap. They also flow alot better than any of the OEM throttle body units. Shouldn't have any problem supporting your engine. Check out Jeg's, they've got 'em.

-Mark W.
'88 SC Camaro w/ 305 TBI

 

Don't forget about the tbi ecm and wiring harness either. You'll also need all the right sensors as well. If you had a donor car or truck to get everything off of it would speed things up and probably cost less too.

Steve

 

Definatly get into burning your own eproms. It isn't hard, just takes time. Best part is you can tune the stuff to control SO much more than just the fuel delivery. Go carb if you want a fast car with min effort involved. TBI flows plenty for high rpm operation. The hardest part is getting the spark accurate. The VE tables are easy to adjust but it's the spark that takes time and trial and error.
TBI also doesn't require a MAF sensor so that's a good $200+ saved.

 

I have not yet touched the spark tables on any chip I've done yet. Where do you suggest starting? I do know from reading a while back to start slow when adding to the tables.

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91 RS 5.0 TBI....LT4 cam....Edelbrock headers....3"Dynomax exhaust....5spd.... 3.08.....Ultimate tbi....afpr...ZR 255-50's...Koni's

 

yeah, real slow. Always watch for spark counts. The general idea is to start slow at one set rpm range and notice when you get counts. Then retard the timing. After you've maxed out your timing across the board you want to get a baseline performance so go to the track and run it a few times. Next step is to take away timing until the performance goes south. Basically you want to run the least amount of timing without sacrificing performance. It's strange like that but from what I've read it makes sence. People always talk about maxing out the timing but one tank of bad gas and you'll have problems. This is why on a street car there is usually a degree or two you can get away with not getting any knock yet remain just as strong as having max timing.

 

thanks a bunch for all of your replies...give me a lot more to go on, thanks again, ill keep you updated if i go through with it

justin

 

Thanks for the info JP!

I have just finished as of Sat night switching to the Vortec heads and intake and will be going through the fuel first.

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91 RS 5.0 TBI...Vortec heads...Edel Performer Intake...LT4 cam...1.6 Crane golds...TES headers...3"Dynomax exhaust...5spd... 3.08...Ultimate tbi...afpr...ZR 255-50's...Koni's