Need some opinions on some parts im planning to buy in the near futre, tell me what you think!?

Edelbrock TPI intake
BBK Throttle Body
BBK AFPR
SLP Runners
Taylor spark plug wires
Mallory Distributor

Currently i have, edelbrock headers, flowmaster, msd Coil

 

All are good, besides the throttle body. Don't waste your money unless your pushing over 300hp.

Mods that I've done are in my Sig. (even though I have a 305)

 

It's money better spent elsewhere for now.

Although I still think it's not needed until you're pushing around 400hp. With my setup i'm currently running the stock TB. DD2000 puts me at 486hp. If I upgrade to the 58mm tb DD2000 says i'll be at 505. It'd be worthwhile for me IF I get a good deal on one.

 

Port your Plenum....

This guy did a nice job porting mine (he polishes too)...

http://www.robiecustoms.com/

Raf

 

He ported my plenum and intake. He also polished my stuff.
Do you have pics of the polishing job he did for you?

 

No pics...

 

This is the only one I have.
He also did my Bigmouth base, alternator housing, water neck, ac delete bracket, and chrome powdercoated my upper rad hose guard and tensioner.
I'll be sending him my AS&M runners if/when I ever get them. GP.

 

How much does Robie Customs charge to port and polish the plenum and runners? I'd like to get into some real simple modifications to my 305 TPI and have figured that Ceramic Coated hooker 2055's, Ported/polished plenum and runners, air foil, K&N's, and some matching underdrive pulley's would give my car alittle more ***** and also make the engine bay look amazing!

 

Prices are on his website...
I bought quite a bit of stuff from him, so the more I bought, the better deal he gave me...

Drop him a line, he'll work with ya.

Rafael

 

P&P on the plenum is nice but it can't hold a candle to a good port job on your base.

 

Don't waste your money on the throttle body. Unless you're making BIG horsepoer numbers (upwards of 400bhp) you won't gain a thing from it.

The only AFPR worth considering is the Holley AFPR. All billet construction, and it has a HUGE knurled **** on it to allow easy fuel pressure adjustment (which is important when you consider the tight area where the FPR is on TPI cars).

Other than looks, you won't really gain anything from the Taylor plug wires either. I'd suggest sticking with stock replacements, unless you can get the Taylors for less $ than stock (or you're going for looks).

Everything else looks fine.

Just a side note: since you're looking at getting a bigger TPI base and runners, have you considered something like the TPiS Mini-Ram? I know it's more money, but the gains are SUBSTANTIALLY more than any TPI-style setup, is A LOT easier to install (one-piece design), and it gives you room to grow with respect to future mods.

It's just a thought...

 

I say get the Taylor, or MSD wires. A good set of 8mm wires never hurts, and they are not much more than stock replacements.

I used to not like the idea of the edelbrock tpi stuff, until I found out that the pieces are basically the same as the old Accel stuff. With that in mind, I have not seen a side by side comparison of the edel and slp runners, but I would think that the edel runners would match their intake better possibly. I had slp runners before, and to tell you the truth, on a motor without more mods that could really benefit from it, I didn't notice anything but the a little less low end torque. I had headers, highflow cat, catback exhaust, slp runners. Might consider a cam while you have the top end off.

A note on the edelbrock headers, they could possibly be the most restrictive shorties on the market. I would say get rid of them, and try some hookers or some hedman headers instead. One look at either and you will see the difference is night and day when looking at the primaries.

Ignition should be fine for that much power, have not had much experience with mallory myself. A stock distrubutor is more than enough for mild power applications, and you can get an oe replacement for about 80.00 from gmpartsdirect.com

If you really want a new TB, you might consider the proffesional products models listed on summit. they are dirt cheap, and from the guys that have used them on here, seem to be quality pieces for a really good price.

Will

 

if you pass on the TB and the AFPR and the spark plug wires and the distributor, assuming your stock distributor works fine, you might actually be able to spring for some performance heads instead.

when coupled with the intake improvements you're making, and the exhaust mods you've already done, performance heads will really pull the combo together and allow you to maximize your synergism. otherwise the cylinder heads (and cam) become your bottleneck. just food for thought. bang for the buck.

also make sure you grind out that ridge on the plenum right behind the TB.

 

It's all about matching your package. If you want some minimal gains, sure just throw the listed parts at it. If you want to make power, and maximize your combo, you need to decide on a power goal, do some research and figure out what it's going to take to get you there, and then choose your parts accordingly.You don't need to go overkill on huge cfm TB's or insane profile cams to get good power. It's all about how the different components interact.

Will

 

Let us not forget my full time recommendation, nitrous kit! I would also consider a Stealth Ram before any other manifold if you don't have emissions checks in your area. Skip the throttle body, and skip the distributor; your stock units will work just fine. The headers you have also have a pretty bad reputation, I'de swap over to Hedman long tubes, good price and good performance. I've seen the Hedman Y pipe and its a pretty nice looking unit. Finally you can get alot of performance from porting and your base and plenum, and 1.6 roller rockers are a nice upgrade you may want to consider. Just keep in mind you'll need the narrow body self aligning type.

 

I agree with Will on the headers. I have a set of Edelbrocks and a set of Hooker 2055's. I compared them side by side, and the difference is amazing. The pipes on the Edelbrocks are greatly restricted at the flange where they bolt to the head. They're pinched in the middle of the port, like an hourglass shape, and the welds protrude into the port. The Hookers are nice and round at the flange. They're also heavier than the Edelbrocks and the quality of the workmanship between the two are night and day.