Hey guys, my brother has offered to give me a rebuilt 350, he tells me its a 71 block but it needs new or rebuilt heads "not a problem my friend works at an engine performance shop", 2 questions, will a TPI setup off of an 86 IROC fit on the block, and also, will my tranny bolt up to this block, I have a 700r4.

 

Of course!

Before my ZZ4, that's exactly the combination I was running! A 1971 engine with TPI on it. The serpentine brackets all bolted up just fine, intake manifold... everything. Actually you're quite lucky it's an '86 and not anything newer. The 86's had the standard center bolt hole angle. In 1987, GM revised the angle such that mofidication is required to make it fit the earlier heads.

 

what kind of power were you getting out of that engine?

 

I'm a horrible example of what that combo could produce. At the time, I was running a stock TPI on AFR 190 cc street heads with a camshaft of about 218° intake duration @.050 tappet lift, and shorty headers. The manifold was nowhere near the RPM range of the rest of the engine, and vice versa. It was lucky if it made the factory IROC's 245 hp. Back then, I didn't really know what the heck I was doing. The engine ran really strong with my old Performer RPM manifold and carb, but it stunk with the TPI. I also had to have it professionally tuned because it was a MAP system and I didn't know the first thing about tuning an FI system.

But, if you build it right- reasonable cam (stock or up to ~215°) and heads (stock or <180cc intake ports), full length headers, and higher flowing TPI manifold parts, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to make 350+ hp. I think you have a MAF system so it should be able to adapt to a combo such as this.

 

Hey thanks alot, I have no idea what cam he put in, I know it has flat top pistons....I dont know much about building engines, *** I would love to have horsepower like that, my brother knows alot though and I'm sure he put the combination together right. See I have 170 hp and TBI, so I'm pretty excited about getting this Engine for FREE, and only spending 200 on a complete TPI system
Actually the only thing I think I'll have to buy besides that is, Headers, and a better Fuel pump.....Any Recommendations.

 

Verify what cam is in there- and I mean VERIFY! You don't want to put this whole thing together and then find out that the cam was too big. If you need to change it, now is the time to do it- with the engine out of the car. Like I sad, a MAF car can adapt somewhat, but you don't want to do anything extreme. Heck, my ZZ4 has only a 208° cam and it's pushing 400 hp. Big cams are not always the end-all-to-be-all. Flat tappet cams are dirt cheap now so you can get the cam that you want and not what someone simply handed to you.

With flat top pistons, keep an eye on your compression ratio. You'll have to figure out the combustion chamber size that you'll need. With iron heads and pump gas, try to stay at 9:1 or less. With Aluminum, you can get up to about 10:1.

As for fuel pumps, check out Summit Racing's TPI/LT1/LS1 section. They have high performance in-tank fuel pumps that are capable of 400 hp. That should be more than sufficient for your purposes- it will also give you leeway for future hp add-ons. What ever pump you get, you're going to need a new one. The TBI's operate at about 15 or so psi. But the TPI's run in the high 30's to low 40's, stock.

 

I forgot to ask a question, I have a set of Heads that came on another 350 my brother gave me and it came witht he TPI on it, but it needed rebuilt...will the heads on that block fit on the 71
If it helps the block was a 90 block, and the TPI unit was an 85 I believe

 

Absolutely. All Small Block Chevrolet cylinder heads between 1955 and 1986 all are interchangeable.

Cylinder heads on 1987-1992 (except LT1) are also interchangeable to the extent that they will bolt on to the block with no problems and accept all factory accessories from any year. However, that ever-plaguing center bolt hole problem on the intake manifold needs to be dealt with if you use a pre-1987 TPI unit. In your case, however, you're fine as is with the years of parts you have.