I have a 1988 tpi 350 iroc in need of a new 350 engine.
I want to find a new motor (with warranty).
GM sells a 260hp and a 290hp crate.
I've read lots of options about both engines but has anyone actually put one in their car and used the TPI on them?

I'm trying to find the easiest replacement crate engine swap for my old 350 tpi
I want at least stock power (or a little more) and I plan on daily driving it.
I don't want to have to upgrade the transmission or rear end.
I'm looking for a drop in and go solution.
I want to keep the tpi.


http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance...99529/10002/-1
http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance...67353/10002/-1

 

Either would work ok I'm sure but not sure what the big difference is between the 2 other than the camshaft? 500 buck difference for just a cam? Doesnt make sense. Does the 260hp one have 1.94 valves?

compression is abit lower than normal L98 and not sure what heads are on it..probably not as good as L98 irons which werent great heads either but not a bad iron factory casting.

TPI intake would have to have bolt holes on the inner 4 bolts ovaled out to fit the old style heads but thats easy to do with a dremel tool.

The 290hp one is making abit more hp than a factory L98 so doesnt appear to be a bad setup, even tho the cam is abit larger than what a stock L98 would get. Would need a good tune to run well. Would like bolt on big tube runners to breath more with that extra duration.

doesnt seem bad for the price. If you could find a shortblock and reuse your L98 heads that wouldnt be too bad idea either to save abit more money. I also like roller type cams like your 88 has, so finding a roller shortblock would be nicer. Dont have to worry about cams wearing flat and having oil with enough zinc and such and cam break ins, etc.

 

When you do a swap like this, do you need to swap in a different prom and tune that or...? I always wondered how that part goes.

 

You don't want either of them, both are junk.
Your flywheel won't fit, your intake won't fit and neither are roller engines.

They are for '78-'85 and have no compression to speak of.

 

Then what other new crate engines can we get to replace our old tpi engines with equivalent power?

 

Those ones are low on compression and power but for a budget build replacement i dont find them that bad. You'd have to get a new flexplates and modify the intake abit to bolt on but thats not too difficult.

ZZ4 is a good motor...basically a corvette L98. Also need to oval out the 4 cent holes for your intake but thats easy to do, or run a corvette intake base. Its a roller cam motor and should have 1pc rear main like the L98 so your flexplate will bolt on.

 

What about the tpi camaro re-man motor from rebuilt-auto-engines.com? It's a re-man roller motor(direct replacment) for $1400 and it comes with awarrenty

 

rebuilt is never as good as all new

 

i personally have the 350/290 in my iroc with tpi. it runs fairly well but im the kinda guy that wants more so im replacing alot. if you just want a slap in and go DD motor that has some get up and go i would recomend it. but if you think that later on your gonna want alot more out of the motor take my advice from exp, buy a short block with better pistons and match your own cam and heads and youll make alot more power for not alot more money. ive never had ANY problems what so ever with it, you will need a new flex plate, and you would need to find a non vortec tpi base but you could find a used one for really cheap, or if you like the tpi that much and have some more money get an edelbrock highflow tpi setup with the correct base. it flows alot better and theres a noticable inc in torque. like i said i have one myself so if you have any other questions feel free to message me.

 

thanks 86IROCracer89

did you run a stock tune or get a new flash?

Was there any other complications you ran into when in adding the tpi to it?
after the swap did you feel the car had the same or better power?
I know the power curves for the 350's are different.
Any thoughts on power changes, gas mileage, and anything else others should know when looking into this swap?

I'd like to know more, was it an easy swap, any other complications.

 

i felt it was a very easy swap, there was nothing really too complicated about it for me, however you do need to modify/replace your intake base as well. i felt a large difference in power, however i was upgrading from a 305. this motor has a nice flat tq curve and makes really nice power. its rated at 290hp and like 330tq with a carb so take about 20-30 off for the tpi but that still puts it about 25-30 more hp-tq than your old 350 made from the factory let alone after 22 years. i personally ran the stock engine tune for about 6months from the 305 and it ran fine(ran alot better after a tune) so i would imagine after swapping from another 350 it would be alright. as far as gas mileage goes i was getting about 16-17 around town with the stock tpi and injectors, when i was driving nice that is, its also a very low compression motor(only 8.5-1) so it will "run" on 87 octane but like any v8 it still likes higher octane gas. after i put the edelbrock intake and bigger inj i have traction issues all around in first and wot shifts into second, so if you do anything like that and like to be rough and have less than really good tires be ready for it to jump out on you.