I've been playing with idea of swapping my tired old 305 TBI for a new GM crate motor, but with college on the horizon, I'm starting to realize that a swap is not going to be financially possible until at least 2011. So that old stock LO3/700R4 with 124k is going to have to last two more years and 40,000+ more miles of commuting.

I'm so tired of waiting for it to finally pass 60, and I don't like getting beat VTEC Honda's with fart can exhaust... is there any way that I can get my crank power up to 200hp for $1000 or less?

TBI mods around 10hp, right?
Open-Element air filter around 5hp...
Headers w/ Flowmaster catback around 15hp
And a performance chip from TBIchips about 10hp

Any other super cheap ways for hp gains?

Thanks!

 

N20

 

Old unforged 305 + NOS... Let the fireworks begin lol. That'd be the end of my motor!

What other idea's besides, heads, headers, 4.10's and open element filters do you all recommend? There are lots of posts on this, and a lot of similar answers.

 

have u adjusted the timing? I dont think your going to hit 200 hp to the wheels for 1000.00 but for 1000.00 you can get headers, exhaust, tbi mods, open element, i guess a chip. adjusting the timing is free, you can probably fit a cam change in there too if you can do that yourself, which you should be able to if you have any mechanical experience.

 

The gears in your rear are everything. My old 305 tbi felt rather quick with 3.45s behind it. A full exhaust, the TBI mods, maybe an intake and youll notice some gains alot of guys like to use the lt1 cam too. I believe the 305 was rated at like 170hp stock.....

 

No, timing is still the same. I have not seen my car since November. It's in a storage facility. I did talk to the shop that did the work, and they told me that they had to play with the dizzy to get it right. I am thinking that the dizzy is shot. Several people who have riden with me have told me that I need an old school dizzy.

Any recommendations?

 

Go with the LT1 cam and exhaust. Should get you darn close to 200hp.
Also TBI needs the electronic distributer, you cant use an old school vacuum advance or anything like that. If you think its going, just buy a factory replacement for it.

 

Thanks for the info, that would have been a bummer to find that out the hard way. I was hoping to avoid putting a cam in because of the tuning involved. Would I need to upgrade the lifters, fuel pump and ECU if I did that? What would it cost for an LT1 cam, installation, and tuning? I don't like costly suprises lol.

 

Check the stickies. Has all the info on the LT1 cam swap.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tbi/...-ultimate.html

 

Thanks!

I did some reading, the thread is excellent, and I will use it when I do the cam swap! The last thing is chip/tune, and I didn't see anything on it in the sticky. I read that installing an LT1 cam without tuning your comp will make the car slower. I don't want that! If there is a thread on what chip I need to install or the tuning after, please attach it. I have heard that it could be very expensive! I would have someone do the swap for me because I am indeed a newbie with mods, and I don't want an undriveable car. Sounds like about $250 for all the parts and labor maybe another $250. I hope that chip and tune isn't expensive! I found a video on YouTube under "91 Camaro tbi" and it has a short clip of an LT1 cammed RS acclerating from 20-70 and it's fast. All I would need after the cam is the SLP headers and Edelbrock intake, which I will look for. I am really on a low budget, and I can't afford too much with college coming.

 

imho you should do headers, exhaust and cat before you do any other mods! these are not only mods that will boost your performance instantly, they will also be supportive to whatever kind of mods you are planning later down the road! this really should be mod #1.
for tuning, take a look into RBob's EBL at http://www.dynamicefi.com
a lot of people are using it on here. you definately need some type of custom tune once you have such an amount of variables (cam, exhaust) in your setup.
once you got your full exhaust done, you'll be running out of fuel rather quickly with any additional mods, so tuning and fuel pump will become an interesting concern right there. for the fuel pump you can get a tpi replacement from ac delco, p/n is EP 241.
all the parts you need are in the lt1 thread. you'll also need an afpr. there are internal (JET, CFM-tech, xtremeFI) and external types (aeromotive 13301).

be sure to spend a lot of time reading what other people have used and done so you can plan your modifications throughout. good luck
hth, ownor

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tbi/...-synopsis.html