anybody ever built this setup? what does it involve? how much more power would it produce over a stock L03? my stepfather has a good L69 sitting in his garage. its been sitting there for a while but ran good when it was pulled out and has been in a dry garage ever since. i believe the L69 has a better cam, better heads, and a better intake. my L03 runs good but will eventually get tired. would this engine be a good swap canidate if i ever needed it. it came out of a 84 z28. my stepfather bought a LB9 305 TBI that has been slightly built to go in his car. he wanted to go TPI. there was nothing wrong with the L69, might do a valve job and new valve seals. otherwise is a very solid engine. what about fuel injectors, are larger units required? is a larger fuel injectors required. what about the prom chip, would it support a L69? would the fuel pump support enough flow? would a TBI intake manifold bolt up to the older block without any problems? basically i have access to a good, solid running engine that would need minimal work to put into my car for free. an engine that would probably perform much better. a 350 would be better, but free is free. would it work?

 

Here are my less-than-expert thoughts.

The L69 is quite a bit better than an L03, but, there are two things to consider:

First, the L69 is a 2-piece rear main seal block. You'd have to change flywheels (if you have a manual trans). Last I remember, that flywheel is about 300 bucks. I'm not sure what the solution is if you have an auto.

While the cam is better than an l03 cam, it is not all that much better. If you're going to go to the trouble of a swap, you'd want to definitely go with an aftermarket cam. Also, that's not a roller cam block. You don't want to go backwards in technology.

And yes, you are going to have to change injectors and tune it.

Consider this. Those heads are pretty cool. Why not pull them off the L69, have a machine shop freshen them up. Pocket port them (if you're DIY-inclined), and get a Goodwrench shortblock for a mid-90s 350 TBI pickup? Match it up with a nice cam, intake and 670 Holley, and you'd have a nice, 300 or so hp, ultra-reliable daily driver that can run on regular gas. If you're on a really tight budget, you can get those short blocks from remanufacturers for around 500 bucks.

This may look free, but, there is going to be an expense in doing this swap; might as well throw in a few more bucks and get A LOT more bang.