Ok... I just want to say that I actually like the looks of the TPI set up.

Long term plans call for the extraction of this wimpy 305 and the insertion of a nice 383. With a budget to go by, I'm interested in using as much stuff off the stock motor as I can. One of the things I'd love to reuse is the TPI system, with a custom programmed ECM of course. Anyone know if this is at all possible? I know I'll need bigger injectors and some pretty hefty fuel pressure. Anything else I should look at?

 

oh boy, this should be fun....

1st off ill say, if your on a buget go with a 355. because youll be able to reuse most of the stock 350 peices.
2nd; how much money are you ready to spend?
3rd; for basics youll need at least 22# injectors, and a L98 knock sensor and a L98 esc(electronic spark control) module.

 

Use a Holley Stealth Ram intake but re-use the original wiring and such. It's a wonderful improvement. Your stock intake can't even let your 305 see it's full potential, much less a larger replacement!

Good luck!

 

If you want to keep the TPI look a stealth ram isn't viable.

The 305 TPI setup would be perfectly comfortable on a 383. A small block is a small block. You'd need more fuel, a set of 24lb injectors would get the job done. A different knock sensor, and some custom tuning to the prom would be in order to get the most out of it.

To get the most power out of the engine, you'll want to upgrade most of the intake system, which can be expensive, but it all comes down to what you want.

 

1) I have the 305. I would have liked to have gotten the 350, but I had to have a ride with a STOCK manual. Where it'd be nice to convert an auto to a manual, I'm not sure when I'd ever have time for such a project. Even planning a 383 build is a stretch. (Obligations to Uncle Sam's Navy)
2) I'm looking at about $5K for the motor. I've done enough research that I know I can pull that off. I've probably got another $1500 above that. I expect a lot of DIY custom stuff to have to be done in my free time.
3) Is the L98 the TPI 305?

Every Stealth Ram set up I have seen had hood clearance issues. I'll grant I have only ever seen it on B-Body cars, but given that... if it has clearance issues under that huge *** hood, it surely will on a 3G F-Body.

Which part of the intake system will need upgraded? Manifold? Runners? TB?

 

the L98 is the 350 TPI. i recomend that you find a 87 on up L98(for the roller cam). sorry i didn't ask earlyer, but how much HP are you looking for, or better yet what kind of 1/4 mile times are you looking for? if you only replace one part of the intake, id replace the base. for your base, get either the edlbrock, or the TPIS base. edl is the only company that makes the base anymore, and TPIS exrude hones the edl base, and then sales that. ill tell you now there is no better (out of the box) base then the TPIS base. what kind of heads where you looking to get for it?

 

Pretty much all of it. It's a matched system, so unless you upgrade all of it, you won't feel much improvement. You can port everything, but by far the weakest link is the base plate. The TB won't become a restriction until after the manifold, runners, plenum. You can bandaid the TB with a airfoil, and the plenum with porting.

 

tpi 383 450 hp 15,000
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ski/car018.jpg

 

nice. what all do you have in it? what kind of times are you running? and does that mean you spent 15,000 on the motor or the car?

 

GORGEOUS RIDE! Looks very nice.

Your intake brings up another question I have that relates to this topic. Is there a way to put cone filters down into the stock "air box?" I love the looks of the intake going forward of the radiator. I've got some K&N drop in filters in there now, but one can never have enough air flow.

 

15,000 on engine
50,000 on car

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ski/car016.jpg

 

was that a crate motor? even though its 450 HP. i dont see how it could cost that much.

 

I would think that a lot of the money was spent on making the motor look good. No offense, but if I had $15K to drop on a motor alone, I'd have an LS7 under my hood.

I would be the last person to take anything away from the car. It looks gorgeous. I'm curious, though, why there's no interior shots. Surely the paint, smoothing, engine, and suspension didn't come up to $50K. That's a big price tag. I know guys that do paint jobs like that for $5K. That suspension set up... I've seen the like for $1K. Smoothing... I'll be generous and say $2K. Given $15K for a motor, that totals out to $23K. Where's the other $27K worth of goodies?

 

i would say that the paint was more, concedering that the engine bay looks painted. that takes a lot of time and money to do all that.

 

Look at the second pic, notice there's no door panel on the drivers side... That might have something to do with it.

 

I'm sticking with my $5K. Like I said, I know some guys that do work like that, and they charge $5K. For a complete resto, like this 'Bird looks to have had done, the owner usually has the body stripped to parade rest. Doin the door jambs and engine bay is a lot easier when nothings in there.

Y'know, now that I look closer, you're right. There's also no trim panel on the driver's quarter. If you look, you can see a plain old 6x9 speaker. Certainly someone with $50K to spend on a car would avoid oval speakers.



Oh yeah... I found this at Scoggin-Dickey:
http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/120/...inum-Heads.htm
Given my $5K budget, I could grab that and have $200 left over for upgrades to the intake system. And tweaking this out to 450HP would NOT set me back another $10K!