I just want to say that I've only ever worked on carb engines, with literallly no computers... So even TPI is like alien to me...

Having said that, there are a ton of things I've got on the to-do list. And unlike usual, I have the funds and the time to do them... So I gotta be getting thinking soon!

I want to put on some headers, with whole new exhaust. Also would love to get a nice lumpy cam in there too. Eventually setup the cold intake and all that such...

Say I put in a new cam, I gotta reprogram the chip for timing and such? And what about the new exhaust, am i gonna have to rig up something for sensors... I dunno...

Are there more things to consider when dealing with computers and such?

 

Depending on the size of the cam vs stock it may run decent, or it may be terrible the farther from stock you go. Either way, you'll need the proper tune to get 100%.

Exhaust wise, with a TPI setup it's pretty simple. There is just one O2 sensor and you can mount that in the collector of a header.

 

And to reprogram the chip, is it a massive undertaking? Or do I simply buy some tool to plug into it, and just press some buttons?

 

Check the DIY Prom board for more info but its basically..

cable to connect laptop to cars ECM and record sensor readings

replace stock PROM with a programmable prom chip

purchase PROM burner

use software to burn new proms

 

So when I make some major mods, the original chip is basicly not gonna be able to handle such major changes, and won't be able to auto adjust itself...

What if I can't get a laptop to program this thing? Do I need to bring it to a shop and have them do it for me?

 

you're lucky, you have a MAF motor vs Speed density. i started out on sd and recently aquired a l98 car like yours, MUCH simpler to work with.
as far as cams go, my understanding is that since the motor relies on the maf to supply its fuel, it will be more flexible then sd with your cam choices, however dont expect to get anything more then a mild cam in there, besides if you're working with a the tpi, you'd be fighting the natural power band of the intake setup with a cam setup to run higher rpms. as far as tuning the MAF cars have about half as many things to play with as an sd cars, which is awesome for a beginner, it took me three months of solid reading to understand the greatest portion of my lo3 tables, when i first opened up the tables for the maf l98 i was a lil shocked at the number of tables, its the smallest ive seen yet. the cool thing is that carb and efi arent that different, once i understood efi i understood carb,, carb is harder, its like trying to tighten lugnuts with a hammer.