I recently bought an 82' firebird whith a 70 era 400sbc broken windshield an overly layerd paint job(very srait body) and a shredded interior i want to concentrate on the engine i want it appear as a stock firebird an run whith no problems money in no object could someone help make a parts list for the engine bay and wiring

 

So what are you wanting to do or have it look like, what engine should it look like?

 

i Want it stock and for it to run strong while keeping the reliability of the TPI I am having the 400 rebuilt with a new roatating assembly and the heads rebuilt also. NEEDS TO LOOK STOCK!

 

There is a thread here .... still on this first page. The guy wasn't impressed with a 400 and TPI. It dies REALLLLLLY early . just figures I'd point it out for ya expect 4000rpm to be it .

 

I am prepared to upgrade the tpi as neccesary to have it run grate i plan to upgrade the runners base tb fule delivery system and injectors.I am also open to suggetion on that front if anyone has a good combo.

 

I think you're going to have a hard time making a 400sbc look stock in a 1982 Firebird, seemings that that year only came with a 305 with an electronically controlled carberator. on top of that the TPI wasn't a stock option for 3 more years. As for using a stock TPI that probably won't work due to what was posted, the base will just restrict you far too much, you won't get jack for RPMs out of it. You'll need to use aftermarket parts to get the performance out of that combination. I don't want to push you away from the idea because I think an 82 Firebird with a 400 TPI sbc is a sweet idea, I just think that putting the "stock look" limitation on it is like shooting yourself in the foot. Keep us posted though, I'm looking forward to hearing how it comes along.

 

i want it to look like a GTA clone it had a v6 according to the vin i want a more modern look so i want the tpi unger the hood

 

So here is your main problem once again. You have a 400 block and you want to put a TPI system on it. The TPI system will die out early on that engine. However you can gain power and some RPM from aftermarket parts such as runners, base, throttle body, injectors cam, headers, AFPR, etc.

But once you go and do all of that, anyone who knows about chevy engines will know by the sound and look of that engine that it is not stock. It is VERY easy to distinguish OEM runners from Aftermarket runners. It is pretty easy to distinguish bases from one another. Throttle bodies can be a dead give away. Injectors will give it away. You can paint the heads and have it not be noticed. The headers will give it away. If the person is really good they might even notice the balancer/dampener.

The best thing for you to do would be to put it together with the above mentioned parts and say it is a "rebuilt" 305 or 327. Same block length. More people on here do that and suposedly get away with it.

 

i want the stock apperance if i wated i could sell the 400and get two 350 what i need is help and sorces. My cuz drives an acura rsx type s but ive alwaya argued mjuscle cars were beter i have seen hime wipe the floor with 350 tpis and ls1 5 and 6 speeds main idea is to maintain sone stock appearance and still be able to kick his ***

 

I would suggest getting a 350, boring it 30 over, getting the parts and making it a 383 stroker motor and put the tuned port injection system on that, get a t-56 and give'm a run for his money. It'll look stock (minus the 6-spd and TPI) over a 400sbc with a tuned port. Even a t-5 would do well though I don't know how well it would handle the torque produced but i'm sure you can find plenty of info on trannies in this forum. Good luck though

 

If your a stickler for a "stock" looking car someone will know that TPI didn't come with an '82 firebird.
But theres always option 2.
Stick with the 400 SBC. Then get one of these.
http://www.firstinjections.com/
If they are not Thirdgen nuts (like us) then you won't have a problem.
Plus it really makes use of all the money your spending on the engine.

 

It won't look stock without center bolt heads either.

 

For that I guess you could always get those adapters. Usually they're to put peramiter valve covers on a venterbolt. But they should work the other way too. If not you could drill them.

 

1985 and 1986 had perimeter style valve covers. 1987 was the switch, so it would look stock depending on the year. A T-5 can only handle like 230 lbs torque. A 400, 350, 327,and 305 are the same length block. They would look the same. If you get a TPI 400 one of the most important things will be suspension, gears and tires. If it won't hook it won't do much good.

 

Have the machine shop drill the appropriate steam holes into the block. If you insist on running the stock TPI, you'll need to port it out to it's max.

I'm doing the same thing with my 400, but I'm going the HSR route. Since you're not, you'll need to focus more on power coming from bottom-to-mid range as you're advantage.

Focus on you're rear gearing, suspension, and stall.... while selecting the right cam for you're HP/torque peak. You're going to have plenty of overlap, believe me, so you'll need to have someone customize a chip to make it run right.

I know guys that are running cams with 112 LSA, and they literally sound stock when idling (thanks to excellent chip tuning)....

Edit: I just wanted to point out, you don't need too radical of a cam if you're building a daily driver (if this is only what you're shooting for), but if you're opting to build it up... you need to focus on power down low

The 400 is a plus (don't get rid of it). Simply put, more cubic inches makes more torque. A 400 will make more power down low with the stock TPI, than a 350 will with the stock TPI. You need to select the right cam though.