ive seen it done, i just wanna know how to make it all work. i have as of now my humble lil 305 TPI and when i tear it all apart here shortly i want to build a 383 TPI. so what am i going to have to do to make the TPI work with the 383 and also be healthy, what needs to be ditched, what (if anything) can be retained, what ecm should i use? im just asking now because i feel its better going into the whole deal knowing what im getting into.

 

I'd go with the 730 ECM (90-92 TPI) because with the 165 ECM (85-89 TPI), you will probably max out the MAF sensor.

Alternatively, you could use the 165 ECM with Aussie code (see the 165 MAF to MAP using 808 code topic on the PROM board).

Either way, start looking into PROM burning.

 

agreed



As far as making it breath, unless you're putting it in a truck, in my very humble opinion I say ditch the TPI, move to HSR, MR, SR, or LT1.

 

by HSR you mean Holley Super Ram, right? if so, then you have read my mind. i HAVE thought of going with that kinda setup but i need more info on it.do any of you guys know any info on it or where i could get info on it? i just was kinda curious about how much it would run me, what other mods ill need alongside it to run it and what kinda performance numbers ill get on a healthy 383 using this setup. thanks for your replies

 

There's a sticky at the top of this board.

 

ok thanks man!!:hail:

 

ok, i looked over the sticky and was wanting to analyze some of my other options, so does anyone know of any other fuel setup that would work well with a 383? i would really like to retain TPI, but im not sure what mods it would take to bring it up to speed. i know it can be done, look in Hot Rod magazine or CHP, they have done it multiple times but sometimes they dont elaborate on what it takes. and i was trying to find some "real-world" experience. thanks guys

 

real world experience says LTR (long tube runner TPI) doesn't make effective enough HP to make a *FAST* car, granted fast is relative and granted torque + numerically low gearing + great suspension = awesome street warrior yadda yadda....


Honestly there's great attributes to both sides, torque vs hp. tq is usefull, thus is hp, and neither one works without the other. No engine should be built without a plan, whats your plan? Do you want a wicked fast track car? Do you want a streetable but still fast car? Do you want a daily driven car with some umpf? This will determin what decisions you make (or at least should) If you're more on the mild side of things, but like the kick in the pants feel of a torque beast then stick with the LTR TPI, but expect to pay a pretty penny after base/runners/porting and the rest of the shebang, when you could just drop $300 on an LT1, or $500 on a HSR, etc....


Figure out what you wnat the car/engine to do, then decide what to buy to make it do that.

 

hey thanks for the advice. what i am lookin to achieve is to have a really fast streeter that can occasionally run the track. if that makes any sense!

 

I had a 383 with a stock intake setup drove for a while untill I could afford my SR and then upgraded everything else. So if you just buy a short block it will run and you can drive it every day(I did) But you should go to 24lb injectors and have a chip burnt. But be warned If you run it with out changing or upgrading your trans and rear they will eventually break. When? depends on how you drive. I babied mine most of the time besides down the track and beating on stangs so it lasted a couple years. I do suggest that you have a AFPR and a air/fuel meter. Good luck.

 

My 400sbc has a ported tpi intake and custom prom.It has beat vettes,cobras and the like.Gets about 25-27 mpg on the highway.I have'nt taken it to the track yet.I can list my mods if you want.You just need to bolt up the intake to the 383.Just make sure the intake pattern is the same as the heads.Intake bolt pattern changed in 87.If your serious I'll go through everything that got me up and running.It will work and work good.Just don't expect much power past about 5500 rpms.There is many guys running fast with the stock intake.

 

if you could list your mods and the things that got you up and running, i would greatly appreciate it!! if you don't want the whole world to see you can email them to me at inapropriate1@aol.com
thanks
Josh

 

There's a pretty long thread in the aftermarket products board somewhere started by Mike Crews. He did the 383 TPI with Vortec heads. Basically, it's the same setup that I'm slowly putting together. Check out that thread -- lot's of good info.

 

here's that thread:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...threadid=84340

 

I'm planning on doing the same thing you're doing-building a 383 with TPI. If me and LottaBalls do keep the TPI, we are planning on porting everything. If not, I wouldn't mind that Holley Stealth Ram. But we're going for the very stock look, so we may just keep the regular TPI.

 

If you want I'll still list my mods.F it, I'll will share it with the world.

 

KVU please post your mods.
I am deciding what motor/combination to put back in my car.Would be interesting to see what you did.
Thanks


Jeff

 

kvu,
I am about to do an engine transplant, a 406 into an '87 IROC. it has the newer heads, so what am I going to have to do to get the newer bolt-pattern intake to bolt upto the old-style 406 heads? Thanks.

Ryan

 

Over the last week I installed a Miniram and Aluminum L98 heads with the combustion chambers "clean up" so I can run more spark advace without detonation (a major problem with the Aluminum L98 heads). But the heads (other than the clean up) are basically stock.

I decided to retain the stock cam (for now) because EVERYONE says a Miniram on a stock motor is a bad modification (loss of low end torque and minimal gains on the top end due to the weak cam and mild heads). I also chose to run the stock cam for now because I need to upgrade my tranny and rear-end because with a cam, I am going to break them. Lastly, I wanted to get the tuning issues of a Miniram dealt with BEFORE I had to deal with the cam tuning.

But, even with my first DRAFT eprom and the Miniram on my basically stock engine I can confirm there was NO loss of bottom end torque. In fact, it feels a little "peppier" below 2,500 rpm and after 4,500 rpm it revs like crazy to 6,000 rpm now. Alll with the stock cam. If I had to say WHERE it feels a little softer, I woudl have to say from 2,500 - 3,500 rpm, but very small....AND the eprom is currently "detuned" with a very weak spark curve (I like to make sure everything is running right before I start getting aggressive). But with some prom tuning, I can EASILY make it exceed the TPI in EVERYWAY. I figure there is another 35 HP with good tuning.

And my previous eprom with my TPI setup was OPTIMAL. Only 1/2* more of spark advance and I was detonating, that is how optimal I had it. Currently, my spark advance is not as aggressive as the TPI setup. And currently the "cleaned-up" combustion chambers are showing NO detonation, so I can now add more spark.

In my opinioni, I would go with a Miniram and DON'T LISTEN to ANYONE who DOES NOT have one. Don't listen to the BS that you loose torque....it's a lie. Everyone I ever seen that bad mouths the Miniram NEVER HAD ONE....so what experience are they speaking from? An arm-chair?.

Now for the good news, the modified LT1 Intake by John Millican is SO CLOSE to my Miniram (internally) it's not funny. The differences are so slight that you will never notice the difference. Better yet, the LT1 Intake is better suited to running a MAP sensor than the Miniram. My only wish is that John had developed his LT1 conversion BEFORE I committed to buy my Miniram.

Buy John Millican's LT1 Intake...or follow his instructions and do it yourself. At $400 for a converted Intake, it's the best value on the planet.

AND don't believe the BS that you loose low end torque with the Miniram/LT1. If anyone says that, ask them "Have you ever had a Miniram/LT1 intake on your car" and if they say "no", well you get my drift...

YOU DON'T LOOSE BOTTOM END TORQUE WITH A MINIRAM/LT1 intake ON A BASICALLY STOCK L98...spoken from someone who actually used BOTH. And with your setup, it will make your motor scream like a SBC should.

If you want lots of bottom end torque, buy a Chev Silverado with a Duramax Diesel. If you want to be fast, install a Miniram/LT1 intake.

 

I dont know if that was in favor or out of favor of what I said that you quoted...

but at either rate the info is usefull.

 

I was in agreement. I also wanted to give my personal experience with my new Miniram on a basically stock engine and dispell the myth that a Miniram looses bottom end torque. As I said, below 2,500 rpm, it actually is stronger than the TPI and this is with a detuned "safety" eprom while I am "still double checking" the install.

But at $400, John Millican's converted LT1 intake (which is basically a twin of the Miniram) is the bargain of the century. As I said, if I hadn't committed to purchase my Miniram when I did, I would have gone with John's converted LT1 intake.

The Stealth Ram does look cool, though I think there are some issues related to clearance of the hood (especially on Firebirds and with the STB). The Ram Jet is also an interesting alternative, though it still is not a "complete" system and only works with Vortec or FastBurn heads. But John's LT1 Intake is still the better bargain ESPECIALLY now that I can vouch that EVEN on a basically stock engine the Miniram/LTI intake DOES NOT loose bottom end torque. It's that last intake you will ever have to buy (though getting them ceramic coated inside and out would be an interesting idea).

 

well, all you guys are gonna hate me, and tpi_roc, you can HELP me a lot more now if you so choose. i have changed my mind on what engine im gonna put in my Formie. i have decided for reasons merely based on complications/cost, i am gonna build a 355 TPI . these engines seem to be easier to "feed", and from what i have seen (did an extensive search on this site) they seem to be getting just as much power outta them suckers as people with the 383's. i assume this is because of the complications with fuel injection/383's. so i appreciate all the help i have recieved on this thread but i have decided NOT to go with the 383. and TPI_ROC, any info/help you could give me on your 355 would be wonderful!!! thanks again to everyone who posted!!!!

 

My 355? Well it isn't increadibly special, I have a forged cranked, I-beamed rod, 4 bolt, *close* to 0 decked 385 that I had machined up but while I was waiting for it I got Impatient due to my car being a daily driver so I bought the 355. It was a block that was machined who knows how long ago the guy was going to put in a car for someone but never did. I picked it up for a great price, pretty much a steal. Its a stock crank stock rod hyper 355 2 bolt. Mellings hiflow oil pump, comp cams hydraulic flat tappet 224/230 512 114 cam, siamesed/ported stock base, stock runners stock ported plenum, stock tb. Sportsman II's that where again pretty much a steal, that I ported. LT1 injectors, SLP coated 1 3/4 headers, hooker 3" exhaust, no cats.

I dont know what you're specifically looking for but for a budget build It isn't bad. When I took it to the strip I was increadibly unimpressed with the guy who built my transmission. I gave him an art carr 2,500rpm stall and he gave me back *supposedly* the same one that now stalls at about 1,700-1,800, and a transmission that shifts like a cadillac and smells like burnt clutch. Needless to say the stall and transmission are back with him now and he's correcting all this.

Let me know what it is you want to know about it.

 

By the way If things go smooth I will have my LT1 intake on the 355 (its intended for the 383) sometime before summer is over just to get a before and after on it, I expect with the heads and the cam that the intake is going to mean absolutely everything to the car.

 

hey thanks for the info, i don't know much else i need to know on it. what would you recommend though, 2 or 4 bolt? i would think, just like an earlier gentleman's suggestion, a 2 bolt splayed.
just wanted your opinion on the subject. thanks!!

 

4 bolt splayed in the end (4 bolts, 2 straight, 2 angled) Is probably the best possible setup. I started to do that with my block untill I just found the stock 4 bolt and went with it. The mains pretty much depend on RPM's, the RPM will put an "OVALIZING" force on the main caps and 2 bolts dont really have what it takes to hold it in place under a high performance scenerio. In my opinion an LTR setup doesn't need anything fancy, but if you want to hit 6,500 rpms on a regular basis with a HSR or LT1 then you might consider 4 bolt or splay bolt. Again you build the engine towards your goal, thats how you end up with the best results. I knew about my 200cc intake runners, and I knew about the LT1, thats why my cam has a little extra duration, and thats why I went with the 4 bolt.


Good luck

 

I'll stick with my 6.6 f.i.