hey guys im just trying to get suggestions on the best thing to buy to get me started on my way to more power in my 86 camaro its a 305 tpi i was thinking a higher flow throttle bodies but im open to suggestions dont want to have to upgrade the computer yet if possible

 

Exaust. Always make shure the you can get the air out of the motor b4 you start shoving alot more in.

 

i have headers with a high flow cat with 3 inch flowmaster pipes to 2 3 inch turn downs so the air has room to move out forgot about that its the only thing iv done

 

Unless you have more than 400hp, don't waste $ on a bigger throttle body.

Go for gears, suspension or start porting.

 

suspension isnt going to give me more power it may help me take corners and i have low end gears in my car forgot about that but i might be working on geting 400 hp the question was what is the best way to start building hp im worried engine wise

 

well since your flat tappet hydraulic a good cam will always help.. for street use I would go with a 268 cam... I like cut on this particular cam, but you will have to have your heads machined...

Lunati Voodoo Cam and Lifter Kits: LUN-60103LK - summitracing.com

you will also need self aligning roller rocker arms..

Though upgrading brakes and suspension is always a smarter move than making the engine faster..

 

That Lunati cam has only a 110 LSA. Kind of tight for TPI. It's my understanding that TPI motoes work much better with a wider LSA, like 112 or more. Check out the Comp Extreme FI cams. Thay have an LSA of 113.

 

Suspension does more then help you go in the twisties, and is a worthwhile thing to upgrade regardless of your choice in racing (strip, AutoX etc.) Establish a power goal and budget then go from there.
Doing the exhaust first was a good move, it's really the weakest link in the system. I'd start by porting. Porting the plenum is easy enough to do and can get you some power, new runners are also pretty easy. Provided you have an air compressor it's not too costly either. If you're industrious you can do the intake as well, there are some pretty significant ridges to remove that will help flow. After this use the large TPI gaskets. If you were interested in camming I'd consider working on the intake at the same time because you'd have to pull it anyways; Don't forget valve springs if/when you cam up. I'd probably avoid the 268H cam, I believe it's past the maximum lift you can run with stock heads.
The other thing is I would consider buying the hardware to tune your ECM, that way you can maximise the advantage of your new found intake and exhaust flow. Perhaps buy it first and learn how to use it, then adjust it as you add modifications.

 

Bought the car with the r/e just rebuilt w/ 3.73 posi
new springs, 16" wheels. We put the headers and exh on when we installed the tpi engine. was originally a z28 305carb.

 

As stated, your heads will have to be machined..

As to the lsa its preference and how much time you want to take to tune the engine

 

cut the air intake can and get a high flow filter

air foil

high volt coil

advance timing to about 8

afpr

take off upper plenuem and cut cut cut

take the air pump off- usually starting to lock up about now and robbing more power than most think (brand new 1hp)/(over 100k 5-10 hp)

sub frame connectors- as soon as you say the work fast and my f-body this should be one of the first considerations

replace the O2 sensor- very overlooked and can cost you hp

 

The stock '86 TPI cam has an LSA of only 109°. Don't let that be a hindrance.

 

Before I blew my LB9 305 to pieces I had the following mods done.

-Ported Heads - 981 Springs/bowl blend/ports
-Ported Plenum
-Ported Base
-AFPR
-CAI w/Air foil
-LT1 cam
-double roller chain
-Full exhaust
-Accel 8mm Wires
-Timing bumped

I can't remember much else. The trans and rear were stock and I didn't have any suspension mods. The car responded very well to the porting work and LT1 cam, I was surprised. After the motor blew the top off #5 piston and I lost all compression in the entire motor, I bought a new 355 shortblock and used most of my parts on that. Next year I'll be upgrading the heads, cam and intake. I loved my LB9 though. Most guys would hear it run and assume it was a 350. The look on they're faces was worth a million words

 

yeah I would love to have talked to the person that was driving the 2002 ram air that could not pull away from me and say that a 305 in there

the 5.7 gto guy too- dont think I have enough to brag to a 6.0 quite yet

 

i have an 85 tpi cam sitting at my house looking for a new home..... 20 bucks plus shipping and she is all yours..... it is used.... about 30,000 miles old....