I've got an '83 T/A w/ a 350 CFI & a 5 speed. It started its life as a 305CFI w/ an auto. It also has the 747 computer in it. I'm considering doing a TPI swap, so I can ditch the CFI, but stay w/ FI. What kind of computer should I look for? The top 3 things I could think of would be from a 6 speed vette, an L98 f-body, or a 5 speed LB9 f-body. Am I going to have to get into burning a chip regardless of which computer I go with?

 

If you're a sucker for punishment you could run TPI off the 747.

Your best option is the '730 ECM which came in the 90-92 TPI f-bodies, also in the 90-91 vette (as teh 727) and also in a gazillion V6 berettas, corsicas, and cavliers. In other words it's a cheap plentiful ECM.

 

Is there a computer/prom I can get to just plug and go, or am I going to need to learn to program my own prom's no matter what if I go TPI?

 

IIRC that thing had a tiny cam in it, and stock heads and all that. If you really don't want to get into PROM burning, a stock L98 memcal would be fairly close.
And yes i'm familiar with that car. I watched Scott pull the worst 60' i ever saw in it

 

Ed, do you know anything about the chip that was programmed for the T/A? It's got some weird idle issues that I'm not sure what they're related to. When I first start it, it idles at almost 2K until it warms up, and even after its warm when the engine is spinning down, it seems to spin down real slow under 2K. I don't know if those are related to the chip, the computer, the intake, a possible vacuum leak, or anything else for that matter, maybe you can shed some light on it since you've got some first hand experience with the car.