Ingar, Norway

I've been offered a 350 TPI from a 1987 Trans-AM (70kmiles), complete with sensors, engine wiring etc.
Would this be much different to what was offered for the Corvette that year? Does it have roller-cam/aluminium heads?
Any link with information appreciated!
What would a normal price be in the US?

PatsLs1vette

thats the same tpi setup im using right now ,check this site out it tells you the differences and whatyou need to do to change from a carbed car. http://www.chevythunder.com/index.htm
also some 87 had the roller cam but some didnt depended on when it was made.and no aluminum heads.Ive seen them offered from 200-800.00 for a setup .

Bearcat

They run good though. Very torquey street motor with plenty of power. They respond well to a set of headers. Also, right behind the throttle body, there is a lobe of aluminum that needs to be ground down. Helps a lot with air flow.

The tuned port runners and plenum itself is the same as a Corvette. I believe the F-bodies (Camaro and Firebird) had iron heads. Other than that, it's probably pretty much the same motor. Not sure about the roller cam question. Log into http://www.thirdgen.org to find out the differences between the different years on those tuned port engines.

An F-body TPI is a strong running engine. It makes an excellent street engine. They like a little bit more cam, if you care to change that. Something around a 221 degree @ 0.050" duration works very well, and still passes emissions tests. Max rpm I saw with a cam like that was around 5200 to 5400 rpm. There are larger runners, throttle bodies, plenums etc. that you can buy to extend the rpm range even higher, but try the stock set up first and see how you like it. Swapping runners and throttle bodies is a very easy job, if you decide you have to have it.

A quarter mile run in the low-14 to high 13 second range at around 100+ mph should be no problem with this engine.

Ingar, Norway

Thanks guys!! :cheers:

This sounds promising. According to the info at thirdgen all 1987 350 have roller-cam.
The seller is going to swap for a big carb-motor so I will also be able to get the fuel-fump. Is it difficult to adapt this to my gas-tank?

How about the intake snorkel, will I be able to use any of the Trans-am parts?
Is it straight or 90 degrees?

Any other things I should look out for?

The price would be significantly higher than patsnitrovettes estimate, but as you know, this is Norway... :rolleyes:
But I thought that just a complete TPI would go for 3-600 dollars in the US?
(With all sensors and wire harness).

Frank75

Remember to get the computer too - is there any type of parts car available? Missing small pieces will probably be the biggest headache. As others have said, they're torquers in stock form, but not much above 4500 rpm.

PatsLs1vette

trans ams used the 90 degree elbow for the intake ito a air cleaner.

Ingar, Norway

Thanks again!
Do you know if I'll be able to use the Trans-Am airfilter housing? (I haven't seen the car in question)
Will my Dynomax headers fit the new motor?
The seller might want to keep starter and alternator, can I use my originals?
patsnitrovette: I've studied your site, very nice.. :cheers: Did you use in-tank or external pump?


[Modified by Ingar, Norway, 3:21 AM 2/6/2003]

PatsLs1vette

this is the stock setup from the 87 trans am,the mass air flow sensor is on the end of the box,there was no room for the air cleaner on the end of that.If your going with speed density setup,not using a mass air flow then you can put an air filter right on the end of the throttle body,if not then you have to figure some other way of using the mass air flow sensor and a filter if your gone to keep it inside the engine compartment.Oh also i used an intank fuel pump,but ill probably switch over to a frame out later on, since my sender just went bad in my tank.You should be able to use your old accessorys too on the motor.



[Modified by patsnitrovette, 9:34 PM 2/5/2003]

Enkil

The TPI is a good engine for a car, but not so great for performance. Being fuel injected it does have some benefits over carbed cars, such as mileage. You can easily get 25mpg or higher out of a TPI system, more with some EPROM tweaking. The biggest problem is the ~4500rpm wall. TPI's just fall dead at that rpm. Takes some hefty mods and such to overcome that. If you don't plan on going crazy with the motor, then it's fine, because it was built for low-end torque. And it IS good for a daily driven engine.

Budman68

Ingar, no problem adapting the fuel pump to the original. With your skills it should be a snap. I used a 82 sending unit with a 92 pump. Works great until you get to the bottom of the tank.

As far as air cleaner, I have yet to see a good set up on a MAF car. Pat is using a C-5 set up, but I'm not sure how he likes it. I'm looking at having 3" tubing spliced and run to the front with dual filters. I'm still working on the design, but you should be able to have a muffler guy build it.

Bearcat

Not so great for performance???
:bs
These are very good engines for performance, you just have to do the right mods. Read my previous post.

To give you an idea, I was jumped by a Subaru WRX at a light late one night. You know, the new wonder car that accelerates to 60 in slightly over 5 seconds? Except for the half car length he got due to 4WD's superior traction and me leaving 100 feet of black rubber, we were evenly matched, to well over 100 mph.
I had the same results against a more modern LT1 Corvette, around a 1994. My biggest problem is not being able to hook due to the amount of torque my L98 makes. If I dropped some cash on drag radials, that wouldn't be an issue.

Yes, your headers should work fine with this engine. Any small block Chevy headers should fit any small block Chevy. And you can certainly run an aftermarket electric fuel pump for ease of installation. That negates the need to adapt your stock fuel tank for the L98 pump, which by the way is a real bear to replace. I certainly would not reuse the stock pump if I were you. Just make sure to get a pump that puts out about 45 psi or better.

The 4500 rpm "wall" is due to not just the tuned port induction system. It is mostly due to the cam profile. It's just too mild. It's like an RV cam. Do some very minor porting, basic stuff, and stick a bigger cam with a nice lopey idle, and you'll be surprised how well the L98 tachs. Like I said, I pull HARD to about 5200 rpm, no problem.
:thumbs: