Hey, i have 91 z28, 305 tpi, auto and i have decided to buy a new engine for it and hopefully have it put in this winter break by thirdgenresource.com They are going to change my car to a t-56 and i want to put a new engine in at the same time to save money and i wanted this done for a long time anyways. PLEASE help me out, LINK Me to engines? just any help would be really appreciated i dont know much of what im doing or looking for ,

1. looking for around 350 HP
2. want to spend around 3-4 k on engine
3. what else do i need when buying a crate engine does it just bolt right on? and everythings done? certain ones i should be looking for that are easier ?
4. someone said i have to get rid of TPI? whats the deal with that?
5. please help i want this bad *** car to be able to be as fast as it looks!

 

You have a lot of options when you are considering crate engines within your price range, and desired horsepower.
The three things I would look for if I was in your position would be:
1) The completeness of the crate. The cost can get high if you're basically buying a short block. Look for key words like "turn-key," or the most comprehensive package you can find.
2) The warranty offered by the manufacturer. Find a good warranty, and you'll have the best of both worlds. Power and low cost-risk.
3) A respectable manufacturer. Once you come up with a few engines that meet your criteria, post questions about the manufacturers. Find out if anybody has a crate from these people, and how long they've been around. No point paying for a 5 year warranty, when the company is a fly-by-nighter.

GM would be a tried tested option.

Let us know which specific ones you're considering after a little research.

 

i woul say to go to GM and get their GM GoodWrench HT383, then pop on a nice Edelbrock Preformer RPM Air Gap intake, 750cfm carb, a nice cam and you should be having some nice power, maybe not 350 but port/polish the heads and put in some bigger valves and there you are, some nice power for your car, just make sure you have a strong frame...

 

If he does all that in MD, he most likely won't pass emissions. Could be wrong though.

Maybe look into getting an LT1 intake. with T56, man you can run some nice azz gears..

You should talk to Der, maybe he and his Dad could build you a nice engine to your own specs, just an idea.

oh, glad to see you're keeping that car, but man you're insurance all them tickets.

 

MARK - lol yeah well i figure if i will drive slower with a stick, this is of course is probably not true but we will see.. so you think i should maybe build my own engine? is it cheaper that way? keep in mind that i know nothing about engines nor what they are together with.. i will talk to der some more though see what he says

NTCHRIST, your right about the completeness part, i was looking in JEGS just for a quick overview and noticed that alot of the engines *dont come with a buncha crap* they write that under the engine, but some are much more complete, where would i look for complete crate engines? jegs is all i can think of but im sure there much be a cheaper way or something, i just have no idea where to look..

 

Jegs has some of the most "complete" crate engines. I've never seen one that has everything.

You can bolt up your stock manifolds, but I'd buy some headers for the little extra cash.

If you don't wanna build the motor, the ZZ4 seems to be a very popular proven performer.

If you stick with your TPI, I'm pretty sure you'll need some computer reprogramming (PROM burning, i guess it's called). Nothing too major though.

 

Try some of these! www.speedomotive.com www.mcclureracing.com www.hotrodlane.cc www.sdpc2000.com
I got my crate motor from the last place, Scoggin-Dickey. Prices are not that bad, probally the best you will find unless you come across a deal. I wanted to keep my tpi too! Most crate motors come set up for carbs. That is where they get the power ratings. They even tell you what they recommend to put on the engine to get the advertised power. Some of the problems you will come across will be most of the parts from the crate motor, you will not be able to use! Like in my case, i did not use the intake manifold, HEI dist., water pump, zz4 cam and roller rockers. I bought the fastburn crate motor and upgraded it with the lt4 hot cam kit. I purchased my motor over a year ago and it is just now in my car! All this time i have been saving for parts. I have added the miniram as well as other parts to it. Basically i fell on my face after i got the motor! If i could do it again, i would buy a shortblock or maybe just a block and build it up. Probally more cost effective and plus i could have all forged internals. The zz4 is a great starting place and it is a strong motor. The only reason i did not just slap the stock tpi unit on there is b/c it would have choked the hell out of the zz4. It would have been now where close to the advertised power ratings! Tuning will be an issue with any major motor swap and in my case i have ordered a chip from fastchip.com or Ed Wright is another name. The chip was $350 for a custom one. That will get my car running pretty good for now but i really would like to get into prom burning and see what this motor is really capable of. Just look at your options, there are plenty. Just be aware of your price range though. They do have turn-key efi motors out there, its just that they are so expensive! Keep in mind that there will be other parts needed for the swap as well. And after you put in a nice new strong motor you will also have to strengthen the suspension too so you can use the new power. Ya see, it all adds up and i just can't wait to be done with it already! It is a never ending process if you want a nice, strong running car. And it is definately not cheap either. good luck

 

I would recommend the big guys, seeing as you are indeed looking for a complete engine.

The 330hp Deluxe Vortec Crate from GM Performance parts ($3,099.30) at Scoggin-Dickey is one of the most complete crates you will find. It is priced similarly to less equipped crate engines.

You get the benefit of Vortec heads, an aluminum dual plane intake, a Holley carb, a water pump, a harmonic damper, and even an installed distributor.

More details here.

 

If you want to keep the TPI and and want the vortec heads look at this one http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...=1577&pid=9009

 

enginefactory.com ....... turn key engines here...warrantys also....select your hp.

 

thanks for taking the time to write 86 iroc... that helped quite a bit
i have updates on what is going on please let me know what you guys think and help me out

I have been looking around and talking to alot of people, im being pointed in the direction of the
ZZ4 engine...

now i was told that having the tpi with the zz4 is not a good idea, but instead try the "STEALTH RAM", so this would come to about $3500 for zz4 and then stealth ram for $500, im lookin at 4 grand which is my price limit... what do you guys think about this? is there anything else im going to need, it the engine just going to plop right in there?

Then im also at the same time putting in a t56, which im assuming a 94-97 t56 is needed to work with this engine, they have those for around 1400, my price limit on all of this is 7000 i think i can make it... please give me your comments and feedback, thanks for responding guys your helping me alot

 

You will most likely need new injectors, the intake with fuel rails and adj fpr, stock dist., upgraded ignition like an MSD box, custom chip, new thermostat, water pump, hoses, belts, oil, maybe new fuel lines, as well as other things. The other parts will come up as you go along, trust me! Maybe new motor mounts, tranny mount, parts from donor car if you are going to switch to the t56. You should get a new clutch and fly wheel too. If i were you i would look into buying the zz4 short block and build it up! I think you will save money that way. I know i wish i could go back and do it. I had intended on switching to carb but i wanted to stick with the tpi. It was just that the parts were so damn expensive for the new motor to run well with f.i. So as time went on i just saved and bought stuff as i could. Check out L98IROCZ89, he did basically the same thing you want to do. He just got his back from the shop this weekend! He has a thread in the TPI board, i think. Oh yeah, figure in labor too if you are going to have a shop do the work. I say stick with the auto for now, you can always go back and change it out, too much of a hassle i think, well for me right now anyway! If you stick with the auto, you should get it beefed up too, maybe a new stall converter. If you go with a really high stall, over 2400 i would think, get a tranny cooler. I got a combo cooler. It is not needed though but i went with a 2800 stall so i want to be safe not to burn my new **** up! There is a lot involved, but once you have all of the right parts, it should just drop in. Later-Bryan

 

Don't forget about complete exhaust, but you could use the stock temporarily until you can save up another $600 or so.

 

Oh yeah, i may have forgotten some things! LOL By the way, i think your car looks really clean. I love the color. If i ever get another one, it will be that color, like the newer C5s, or it will have to be that SunSet Orange Metallic.

 

A good site to take a look at is, Golen Engine Services,

http://www.golensengineservice.com/

They offer short block, long block or turn-key setups built to order, offer warranties and are reputable. I have seen them written about in Hot Rod, PHR, Chevy High Performance and Car Craft. Additionally a friend of mine purchased one of their 383 Small blocks and its have been great for him thus far.

 

MARK - yeah ill do the exhaust soon as i finish payin this off i guess, i might be able to ge tsome headers so i can do that when the engine is off, but i guess i can do everything else later with no problem?

86IROC-
"You will most likely need new injectors, the intake with fuel rails and adj fpr, stock dist., upgraded ignition like an MSD box, custom chip, new thermostat, water pump, hoses, belts, oil, maybe new fuel lines, as well as other things
"

you sure i need all of that? i was talking to my friend, he said that the zz4 comes with most everything, just not an intake, and he suggested to not use the tpi just get stealth ram , and he sai that shoudl do it, should bolt right on, maybe a few parts needed for the bolt on but u said new injectors, intake with fuel rails and adj fpr... i have no clue what thta is, will the stealth ram cover that?... upgraded ignition- is that necessary at first?, as for the custom chip my friend is learning how to burn them now so i think i might be set with that unless thirdgenresource.com can do that too, and waterpump? the one i have now wont work and i thought it comes with one?

 

1991 Z-28, you have a 305 right? Those injectors are set at 19lb/hr, i don't think that would be good enough for a high revving 350. If you get the SR, it will have a higher rpm range than a stock unit. You will need larger injectors, either 22lb/hr or 24lb/hr. If you get the complete zz4, part# 24502609, you will not use the distributor, intake manifold, and water pump. The motor is not turn key so you will need other parts on top of what i just listed. The water pump does not work on our belt systems, it is for a non serpentine setup. So you can either use your stock pump, which i wouldn't do, or you can buy a new one. I bought a Stewarts stage 2, it was around $180 for the aluminum pump and bolt kit. Not bad considering i bought an electric CSI pump that will not work with this set up for around $260 and i now have to sell it or try to return it! Also, the dist. has a vacum advance which will not work on a tpi motor. You can just use your stock dist., thats what i did b/c my car had 82k miles on it. Like i said, get a cap and rotor, new wires, and maybe the ignition box. The ignition box, like the MSD 6A or 6AL is meant for upper rpm use. It boosts your ignition to higher rpms b/c the stock ignition is not meant to go up in the rpm band really any more than stock. That SR will want to breath and you might get air and fuel to those higher rpms, but your stock ignition may not get the spark up there! Whenever you go above 4500-5000, it is best to have an aftermarket ignition system, i used the 6AL. I am sure you do not need the ignition box for now but if you want complete combustion through the whole rpm band, i would get one. Now, the intake should have everything i listed in my other post. The intake is the Stealth Ram/SR, if you get it complete it should come with the whole manifold, upper and lower, and fuel rails with the adjustable fuel pressure regulator/adj. f.p.r. You will need an adj.f.p.r. to mess with the fuel pressure because i doubt that you will have it set perfectly without one. Now, about the chip, i don't know how good your friend is but i think it would be hard to get a "perfect" running chip from the data off of a 305 chip. That is the way i look at it b/c that is the only thing i have to go by to burn a new chip, is my 305 chip. So instead of dealing with the hassle, i just bought an Ed Wright chip @fastchip.com. It was $350 plus shipping and if i ever need it to be redone, it is another $50 i believe. But hopefully i will be into burning my own chips by the time spring comes along! If you run a custom chip like that, you will need to get a lower thermostat to prevent detonation! I got mine from TPIS for around $10. I used a 160* thermostat, it is better for custom chips but people use 180*. You will also NEED new hoses and belts, i would not use the stock ones, if you can save them that is. I wouldn't risk a leak anywhere! The oil, i needed to get it b/c my motor did not come with it, the pan was not full, i thought it would be too. Also, the tranny fluid, i needed to buy that since i had work done to my trans, that was another $40. Stuff adds up here and there. I also had my radiator flushed and it turned out that one of the tanks was bad, so that was another $60. The combo cooler i got also adds up and i am making custom fuel lines too so that adds up. You will see that once you get into the swap stuff will pop up and right now i can not think of anything else. If you have any other questions, just ask. I am sure if i can not answer it, and i know that i probally can't, then someone else would! Oh, and about the SR fitting the heads, i would check on that. I am pretty sure i saw somewhere a guy using the intake on this motor but not possitive. It should fit though! I know my miniram is a third version and is just meant for fastburn heads. Well, if you read through all of that *** Bless you! J/K Later-Bryan

 

You've got a TPI car, right?

This is what I've been wanting to do...

SDPC (Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center) has a crate engine that's basically a standard 4-bolt 350 longblock with Vortec heads, valve covers, and a TPI intake manifold. All that you would need to do to get it working is just take all of your sensors from your current engine, the fuel injection, and the rest of the intake, and you'd be set (unless I'm missing something big). Actually, if you're currently using the stock 305 injectors, you'd want to probably get some LT1 injectors or something similar--but those can be found on Ebay for less than $150.00 (easily).

This way, you could have a *big* boost in power form what you already have (the numbers SDPC gives are 357 HP @ 4,200 RPM and 416 ft/lbs Tq @ 4,200 RPM), plus you'd get to reuse your TPI stuff and hopefully you'd be more likely to be emissions legal since it'd be fuel-injected (no guarantees there, though).

Seems like it'd be pretty easy, assuming that you've got the money. Correct me if I'm wrong, though (it's happened before)...

Here's a link to the page on SDPC.

 

The GM crate HT383 motor is cool it has 4.00" bore and 3.80" stroke.

 

Can anyone confirm that the ZZ4 comes with the Fastburn heads? I'm the friend of 1991-Z28 that is making the suggestions and sorta like his consultation person about all this. LOL.

 

oh whoever, said get rid of TPI, should get kicked in the face, no i'm joking, but our very Own Trax, has gotten his LTR setup into the 12's so ditching the TPI is not necessary but is the limiting factor for the quest of more HP. if you're talking about ditching the TPI for carb, then i would not suggest that at all. Most people want to do the opposite and i wonder why? TPI is nice if you want the capability of making equal power to a well tuned carb. and keep the drivability and fuel mileage of modern day fuel injection.

 

Part# 24502609 is the ZZ4 355hp version. Part# 12496769 is the fastburn 385 which produces 385hp and 385ft lbs when used with a carb. The difference between the two is the heads and the crank, according to Scoggin-Dickey. The Fastburn385 comes with a forged steel crank and is about $600 more than the ZZ4 crate motor.

 

 

ok oppsi definetly just copied that and didnt write anything... lol.. ok yeah didnt know about the injectors, Der was over here last night, we were looking at your post 86 iroc, i konw we dont need alot of those parts that come with it, but i can maybe sell them on ebay fora little money, im not sure about the chip to get, ill look into that DER might be able to program mine but ill figure that out later..

Go to ebay and search for zz4, there are 2 engines on there, starting at 2500, brand new , im guessing i could save some money on those? then paying 3500 new online, you think thats a good idea?

also im pretty sure im gonan go with the stealth ram i think thats a good idea, and just lose the TPI

 

Yeah, try to sell the stuff if you decide not to get the shortblock! I sold my cam and 1.5r lifters for like $125 and i just sold my water pump for $35 but shipping cut that in half! I am still trying ot sell the manifold and HEI dist. I saw those engines on ebay, they don't look that bad! It just depends if the seller is bad, i guess. It is a lot of money to be doing a transaction over the internet though. But thats just me! I am sure there are tons of policies to protect you over at ebay. I don't know how you feel about selling your parts but i am sure you could sell your complete tpi for a decent chunk of change! I kept my motor b/c if i decide that i want to keep it, which i really want to do, then i will have a #s matching car! I keep all of my stock parts, soon i will have to get a seperate shed once i change out the rear. You can sell the tpi for i would guess around $300+. Remeber, you need the stock dist. or a new replacement, and also the harnesses and oil press sender too on the manifold. Probally other stuff too, depending on what the SR comes with. Pretty much everything i have new and so should you if you go through with the swap! The stealth ram is pretty damn good for the money. It gives you great torque and decent hp too! I wish i would have known more about it in the spring when i got the miniram, i might have gone with a SR myself. Oh well! And about the chip, i have no experience at all with burning proms so i would have been out there for a while figuring that crap out on this motor. Now that i have this chip though, its basically going to be plug everything up and go, well almost! I am still going to my uncles buddy to have him check out my "work" and also to tune it. I live 20min from SLP and i believe their dyno is open so i just may take it to them to tune it and when the motor is broken in maybe get it dyno tuned. I am sure it will cost an arm and a leg through them though, we'll see. Well, good luck with everything, talk to you later-Bryan

 

thanks for your help bryan, im hopefully gonna bid on one of those zz4's on ebay soon, and im going to call thirdgenresource.com and see whats up with them doin this all... but ill let u konw whats goin on thanks again everybody