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New Motor for '89 K5

njonl

njonl

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My drive an '89 Blazer with what I believe is the stock motor. It is definately tired and Iwant a little more power for towing. I was looking at Jim Pace for GM crate motors. I am specifically looking at the '96 - '00 5.7L Vortec 350. My question is, will I have any problems dropping this in my Blazer ? Will my TBI intake bolt right onto the block along with all the smog accessories ? Will I need to do anything to the computer ? Is there anything else I need to know if I decide to do this swap ? Thanks for any input,

-Nick
 
I believe you need the following to use any motor with vortec heads. I haven't done it yet, but this is what everyone has told me since I'm researching a GMPP HT383 swap into my '87 350 TBI Burb.

Intake Manifold GM Performace Parts Vortec manifold with TBI 339.95 summitracing.com NAL-12496821
Throttle Bracket Universal Throttle Bracket for Vortec Intakes 28.95 paceperformanceparts.com ED8032
EGR Adapter VORTEC MPFI EGR ADAP MANIFOLD 15.99 paceperformanceparts.com ED2899
EGR Pipe GM Truck Vortec Engine EGR Pipe 66.73 paceperformanceparts.com 10220275
EGR Tube Fitting FITTING-EGR Tube, Vortec 6.71 paceperformanceparts.com 12552329

You'll probably need a custom chip also.

If you're looking for more performance look into Turbo City's package for TBI Vortec swaps they include a higher flow TB custom chip plus other goodies and run about $1K.

Or another idea for more horses/torque is Edelbrock's MPEFI for TBI Vortec conversions, this runs about $1K, but includes the chip and intake plus all the MPEFI stuff, so it's a good deal.

If you still want more power beyond that check out the GMPP HT383, it's built for torque and towing, and is built different than a traditional 383.

I'm sure someone will chime in with info on they're completed setup, but if not, this should get you started.
 
Mini Mull,

Thanks for the info. It helps alot. Just curious though, I do have to smog, so all this stuff will still pass smog ? Any idea on what kind of HP/TQ numbers this vortec motor will put out stock ? Also, the 383 you are looking at, does it pass smog ? Thanks again for your input.

-Nick
 
Tough to say for California. I believe the edelbrock MPEFI for the 87-95 TBIs is 50 state legal, but I'd email them to make sure. I don't think the Turbo city stuff "looks" any different than stock, but I'd email them to make sure. As far as the motor, I believe the HT383 is technically not legal in smogged vehicles(esp CA), but since it's a 350 block and there's nothing to differentiate it from the outside, people in most states get away with it. As far as stock vortec, I would think this shouldn't be a problem since I believe in CA you can go newer, you just have to keep the smog. Keep in mind, all of this info is just what I've heard since I haven't done the swap, and never smogged anything non-stock in CA. I would definetaly talk to a few CA smog refs before changing anything. (I've heard some of them are just like the Capital One comercials and say no to everything, so you should find a good one to work with. I believe there is a smog ref who is a member here, if you search old posts, you should be able pm him with questions. I don't know what the stock vortec 350 hp/torque numbers are, but I know with the Edelbrock MPEFI they claim 265 hp and 340 ft lbs, which isn't to shabby compared to what you have now. The HT383 puts out 340 hp @ 4500 rpm, 435 ft.lbs @ 4000, with 400+ ft/lbs from 2500 to 4000 rpm, but costs around $4K. If you need some retail sites for crate motors let me know and I'll reply back with some, nothing special, but if you're just starting to look it could save you some time.
 
I am currently running a vortec motor in my sub with the GM Performance Parts TBi intake to vortec heads. All I had to do was buy the EGR tube and stock vortec manifolds and had the cross over changed to mate with vortec manifolds. I used the stock throttle bracket, EGR valve, and all the other parts that were bolted to the stock intake. You can use your computer with 96-99 5.7 L as long as you use the adapter intake for the stock TBI injectors. Hoipe this helps out some.

bigred81
 
Mini,

Thanks again for the informative post. Yeah if you have some retail sites for crate motors that would be great. I am leaning towards the Vortec but I am open to anything.

-Nick
 
bigred81 said:
I am currently running a vortec motor in my sub with the GM Performance Parts TBi intake to vortec heads. All I had to do was buy the EGR tube and stock vortec manifolds and had the cross over changed to mate with vortec manifolds. I used the stock throttle bracket, EGR valve, and all the other parts that were bolted to the stock intake. You can use your computer with 96-99 5.7 L as long as you use the adapter intake for the stock TBI injectors. Hoipe this helps out some.

bigred81
Click to expand...

What vortec motor are you running? I might have some questions for you too.
 
If you plan to install the vortec you will need to do something about the EGR situation like someone else has already said. Also you will need to go to the referee for your first smog since the vortec was never offered in our year blazers, it doesn't really have much to do with it being vortec as it does being that the smog stuff has to be modified so any smog tech is going to send you to the Referee.
 
I have seen these selling on Ebay for a while: Vortec TBI Motor

Looks like a sweet motor. A complete TBI set up including manifold, bored TB, adjustable FPR, and PROM for under 3000 is a good deal.
I have no personal experience with the company.
They have been selling those motors on E-bay for a while and have 100% feed back.
Heres their sitehttp://www.xtremefi.com/ But it looks like they do all their selling on Ebay.
Might be worth looking into.
 
Another option that isnt as "sexy" as some of these others is using a gm crate motor for a throttle body Caprice (cop Car) It has a roller cam and my Parts guy says these are now producing about 260 HP. It was well under 2 grand even with sales tax and was actually cheaper then the K motor (truck) throttle body. It looks identical so should easily pass visual and output smog tests and is available locally with a waranty plus everything bolts right up.
 
Looks interesting. You'd think it would need a custom chip though, I don't know how they'd get around that. Do you have any charts on it, they don't have any online?
 
No unfortunately my "looking" hasnt gone any farther than what they have on their web site. it is something I am planning a few years down the road. I believe you can contact them thru the site, it looks to be a nice motor though espically if it would be smog legal.
 
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