If i choose to put my 87 block into a 78 camaro, can i discard the tpi setup and computer and go with a carb/intake combo ? I only ask because my block as the bore for the knock sensor.. <-- is there a kit to block off the knock sensor boss ?

 

you sure can....


i think the spot for the knock sensor has been on all blocks since the early 70's, they just called it something different..if i remember correctly...

 

OH yea ? cool. but what would i block it off with ? I've been runing some dyno simulations and it seems the tpi setup will get me more torque with slightly less HP. so im undecided on whether to go tpi or not.

 

You could just leave it in place in case you ever want to use the engine with a computer.

 

The "spot for the knock sensor" is called a "drain hole". It's been the same for all SBC's since 1955.

The kit for blocking it after removing the knock sensor is called a "pipe plug", identical to the one that is located on the driver's side of the engine.

 

Sweetness thanks. what do you guys think ? TPI vs Manifold/carb ? This will be a street/strip car, and i know torque is king... thus leaning towards the tpi side.

 

You can have both. Longer runner carb manifolds have been available since the early '60s. Offenhauser and Weiand used to make dual carb long runner intakes for that very purpose. Crossfire Injection was really not a new idea. Niether was TPI. The only "newness" of those systems was the electronic injection, which had only been available since 1976, and the fact that the TPI was a dry intake system. Even that was first done on a Chevy small block in 1967, if you had the spare cash.

"Torque" and "carburetion" aren't mutually exclusive terms. On any engine with a given bore/stroke, the level of torque at lower RPM has more to do with the cam profile and runners.

 

hey vader thats great info. I've been thinking of trying to find a hybrid manifold that would give me great torque but allow my car to breathe in the upper band. i read somewhere they exist but dunno who sells them

 

Like this?



It's also available in a single four barrel model:

 

OH man ! where can i pick up one of those ? oh do tell !