i have an 83 chevy truck, 3/4 ton. the 4 speed manuale, and was woundering how hard it would be to convert it to a tpi, i know i need the unit and a computer, and harness, but what do i need to look for and know being that it is a pre 86 block, and what do i need to do about emmisions. The truck carbed right now, if you need any more info just ask, thnks in advance for the info!

 

If you made the change which is somewhat difficult unless your experienced in that sort of thing.

As far as emissions it should put out less than the trucks factory setup. So it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Everything bolts on. The only part that is difficult is fuel delivery. You need a high pressure fuel system, and for the most part the in-tank pumps do a better job. You need a send AND return line, both of which are pressurized. Other than that, you just need to bolt the stuff on, route the harness, and figure out how you want to mount the computer. If you mount the computer under the hood, you'll need to find a spot on the passenger side, and you'll probably have a lot of harness length left over unless you get an aftermarket harness kit like the Painless kit. Your other choice is to run the harness through the firewall and mount the computer inside. I don't think the harness is long enough to reach around the kick panel.

You'll probably want to convert to electric fans while you're at it.

Any 85-86 TPI manifold from an f-body will bolt to your heads, and so will an 85-91 TPI manifold from a corvette. TPI parts are generally interchangable, but there are enough differences that if you're not careful you can wind up with a little bit of a mess. Your best option right now is to buy the TPI Swapper's Guide and start reading up. It'll cover most of what you need to know about TPI, including the differences from year to year and all of that.

Stay away from an 85 setup. The 85 setup had a unique computer that was primitive and doesn't respond real well to major changes. It's possible to work around it, but why deal with the headaches if you don't have to.

If you buy a complete setup from an 86-91 Vette, it should be a pretty straight foward swap other than the fact that you won't have EGR. Using a system from an 87-92 L98 f-body will be simple too, but you'll need to modify the center bolt holes on the intake. Using parts from any other years are going to require mixing and matching of some parts, but personally I feel that it's worth learning what parts are what, that way you can piece together a system that fits your needs better.

If you want information on piecing together a system, I can spend the time to go over all the differences from year to year, and what benefit they all have. I'm just not typing it now because it's going to take me forever so I want to make sure that you need it first.

 

I am in the process of doing it on my 86 chevy truck. In addition you need to find a tank from a 87 model(they had fuel injection) and change the fuel pump. Need new throttle cable, cruise cable(if you have it). Like JIM85IROC said the hard part is the fuel system. It is also better and easier to find a whole motor that is in the car still so you make sure you get everything. And it is usually cheaper. just trying to help
mark

 

Geez, Jim knows everything.

 

Unfortunately none of the knowledge came the easy way.

If there's a TPI problem that you can think of, I've had it at least twice on my IROC and probably once on one of my other cars.

 

hey jim... quick question...
why does my engine shake when it idles? Not cause its running, but there there is a shake that shakes the whole car. I replaced all the plugs, wires, coil....i dont know what could give it that weird shake. maybe timming is off?

 

dunno man. It could be anything. You could have internal problems, a balancer that's shifted, an imbalanced flywheel, or something like a misfiring cylinder.