Im swapping out my 350 TBI motor with a 350 TPI motor into my 3rd gen camaro.Just wanting to know where i should start,open to all suggestions. Im wanting to get about 350hp-400hp out of it when i get done.the new motor came out of a 1986 corvette and has aluminum heads and from what i can tell is stock

 

What's your budget?

If you're keeping those heads, you can pair them with a ZZ4 camshaft and some 1 5/8" headers and get 350 horsepower ( I made 282 RWHP in mine ).

Then I stepped up to an LT4 hot cam, bigger 1 3/4" headers, an aftermarket TPI intake and runners, a custom chip tune, and it made 319 RWHP.

Now I'm up to Trick Flow heads, a Lunati 226/234 camshaft, a huge siamese-port job to the TPI unit, more chip tuning, and its 355 RWHP.

 

Im trying not to spend over 2,000 on the motor build.The zz-4 cam sounds safe as far as passing emmisions but the hot cam is more tempting. What type of internal work needs to be done for these cams? rollers,springs ect..... Ive been doing some research and the stock motor should be able to handle a small cam if I change out the springs?

 

ZZ4 camshaft will work with the stock computer chip, the LT4 hot cam will not.

For springs, go with the Manley 22410-16 springs and the 23652-16 retainers. That'll have you good to .550" lift. They bolt right onto the ZZ4 heads, I used them on my setup.

 

will a zz4 cam work on the stock 350tpi heads? im looking for one and another member here recommended the ZZ9 cam saying that it will fit im also looking for something that will fit and i wont have to tune (unless i have to)

 

Yes, if you upgrade the springs to the ones I suggested.

 

manley springs and reatiners, check. zz4 cam check. maybe i should look at some heads while im at it. im in the same boat as you number1 except im looking at around a 4000 budget and looking to make 300+ hp and torque....hoping. thanks kevin.

 

quick question, im getting the zz4 cam, and the manley springs and retainers from summit. and these will go fine with the stock 350tpi heads? just want to make sure before i cam my 350 while its out the engine bay thanks man

 

Yes they will work just fine with the iron L98 heads and the aluminum L98 heads, up to .550" lift.

 

How much was that chip tunning? Im liking that hot cam idea. But Im afraid of getting a tune, its kind of expensive to be constantly tunning to be perfect.

 

talk to kevin about that he handles tuning for our third gens probably easier if you live in so cal. about the hot cam not too sure if you can fit in your 305, if you can though it'll run real hard.

 

 

This is a very helpful as I am trying to do something similar (although I am going from a 305TPI to a 350TPI) with my 86 Camaro.

Awhile back I purchased a 87 L98 (F-body) engine, it had a bad valve so rather than rebuilding these heads I purchased a brand new set of aluminum L98 heads on E-bay to replace them (I know these aren’t considered super high performance heads but I really wanted to lose some weight on the front-end). I had already purchased a set of SLP 1 ¾” header and a ZZ4 cam kit to install before I reassemble the motor. I had been toying with the idea of adding some SLP intake runners to this and just put it together to see what kind of horsepower I could get from this combination. From what Kevin91Z indicated he got from his motor; I might just go ahead and put it together the way it is and skip the runners for now. If I could actually get the numbers that Kevin is talking about I am already concerned about the health of my WC-T5 and my 9 bolt rearend!

Does anyone else have any experiences/suggestions?

 

Ive never been a huge fan of SLP stuff, and TPI engines have a problem
generating horse uptop of the RPM band no matter what kind of intake
manifold/runner you use. However, huge torque numbers and "decent" HP
can be a winner. What matters is a spot-on tune & parts matching!

I like AS&M (Arizona speed & marine) LTR/long tube runner setups personally.
They keep a stock appearance, and perserve torque while adding to airflow.
Expensive and sometimes hard to get, but worth checking out!

I wouldnt expect your engine to tear thru your trans/rear just because
you added some runners. If the build is a beast.. you'll know right away!

Then, you can prepare the car for the power!

 

I do my own chip tuning, so it doesnt cost me anything any more. I can do chips for local people, only. I wont do mail-order chips.

I worried about my trans and rear end but didnt start breaking them until I was in the 12's with the hot cam. With the ZZ4 cam and 282 RWHP, it wasnt a problem.

 

I might just go with Westers tuning, either that or a local shop that does dyno tunes.

 

like Kevin said whats your budget???if you want to achieve 400 RWHP you can do a nice buildup or go with forced induction turbo, supercharger, NOS etc.good luck with your build-up and tuning

 

Now whats the lift if you use 1.6 roller rockers? Mike has a set he said he would sell me.

 

The lift limit is the same no matter what ratio rocker arms you use.

And remember to check your own clearances, dont just take my word for it. Every head is different.

 

and just because the springs will do it doesn't mean that the rest will... I just disassembled 2 heads that I wouldn't run more than .465" lift before I'd start worrying about retainer/seal contact, while published numbers are that most 80's and 90's small block heads will tolerate about .485" or so.

 

how much is it to have your car tuned on a dyno

 

Just wondering about your dyno numbers. Are they corrected for drivetrain losses or actual right from the dyno? I have an 89 L98 with zz4 cam, vortec heads, as&m runners, bigger TB, and headers and my best dyno as 235.7hp @ 4390 / 317 tq @ 3395 Was your RPM similar to mine? Dyno was Mustang / Powerdyno Dyno

If we have similar numbers I think I want to go the direction you are going with mods. I made 3 runs using different proms (not actually tuned for my car) and that was the best.

[quote=Kevin91Z;3889758]What's your budget?

If you're keeping those heads, you can pair them with a ZZ4 camshaft and some 1 5/8" headers and get 350 horsepower ( I made 282 RWHP in mine ).

 

im curious how you got those numbers as well.... with my old l98 with l98 heads crane 2032 cam, slp runners/ported plenum, edelbrock base, slp cold air intake and the the usual bolt ons only put out 215hp by 283tq at the wheels... why are torqueaddict and on my old build had such low numbers compared to yours...