Short and sweet. I have an 86 Z28 my uncle left me after he passed and I am hell bent on getting back on the road. The issue I have is I am stripping the engine down, getting rid of all the damn vacuum hoses and I am going to put a carb. on top and had planned on taking out the OBDI. The issue I have is this; Do I need the OBDI to run the Trans? It is an Automatic Transmission. And, if so, will I be able to disconnect the engine from the OBDI and have it still function properly to work the trans?

Any answers?

Thank you.

 

The transmission should be a 700R-4 and you will have all 4 gears without the ecm. But you won't have lockup which if the trans is a 86 will need to keep from burning up. This is an easy fix. You can install the painless kit from summit and not worrie about any of the ecm.
Rob

 

Ok, Rob, so you are telling me I can run this without any help from the OBDI/ECM? Just straight mechanical? (because i am not a fan of anything involving a computer to run.)

 

Yes, you can run it without the ECM. But, if the car is currently a factory carbed car, you're making a grave mistake - there's no better carb available than the factyory carb.

But if you insist on going aftermarket carb, you'll need:

carb - 600cfm ($250 - $450)
intake ($150 - $250)
HEI vacuum-advance distributor - you're current distributor is computer controlled, and it won't work with an aftermarket carb ($125)

If factory carbed, no fuel pump issues. If FI car, then you'll need a RETURN-STYLE fuel pressure regulator like the Mallory 4309 to reduce the high FI fuel pressure (40+psi) down to suit the carb (5psi) ($90)

You'll need a TV cable Geometry Corrector Bracket to attach to the carb to keep the proper tension/geometry of the TV cable ($20)

Sturdy good throttle bracket for ther TV cable and the throttle cable. ($30)

And, you'll want to do something to enable that torque converter lockup at some point to save tranny heat and increase gas mileage. ($100)

Plus the nickel/dime goods to complete the task. I

It's not cheap or easy to swap to aftermarket carb!

Good luck!

 

is this a TPI car? Or is it a CC q-jet? Either way, if your not modding the engine, Id say just leave it and take out all the emmissions junk. The ECM will work fine without the AIR and what not. At most, you may just want to keep the EGR, which doesnt interfere with much.