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TBI 350 performance camshaft choice

80 Chevy K20 4x4

80 Chevy K20 4x4

1/2 ton status
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Athena, OR
I need to buy a new cam and lifter set for my 87 TBI 350 4x4 3/4 ton pickup. I have a 33" tires and 4.10 gears and run down the highway at 2100 rpm doing 60 mph. Has anybody bought a performance cam without going to a custom burnt chip for the ECM? Which cam should I get that will give me the most bang for my buck? My motor is stock outside of 3" exhaust and Thorley Tri-Y headers.

Thanks for the help,
Doug /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
I would not bother with a "Performance camshaft" unless you plan on getting new heads and intake. The stock heads and intake dont flow well enough to support a performance cam.
Just get a torque building computer cam good to 5K rpm and call it good. A Comp Cam smmthing like # XE249H would be a good choice.It's about the max I would go with a stock chip. Crane also makes a good TBI cam (Powermax2020). Edelbrock makes a matched Performer intake and cam set that works good on TBI trucks too. The Edelbrock cam is prolly the mildest of the bunch but builds good torque..
If you put in a bigger cam you might also consider getting an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. You will need a bit more fuel pressure than stock to support the better flow. So you will get the most out of your cam.
 
Im doing this right now...
Th people I trust tell me one of the best mods we can do for the 87-91 tbi truck motor is upgrade to a hydro roller camshaft... as the police performance motors have... doesnt screw up obd1, works with smog and wakes up the motor nicely...
my block (stock) is already setup for this... post 87 some were some werent... depends what chevy had left on the shelf at the end of gen2's runs....
other than that some tbi tweaks... and youll still have a motor that runs on piss gas... gets great mileage (I was getting 15 in a one ton beofre I took it apart) and is bulletproof at about 8.5 to 1...
who needs to rev... I want to pull
cam
 
I just picked up a brand new Performer Plus cam and lifter set, a new Edelbrock tbi intake, Comp Cams spring kit, Comp Cams push rods, and Comp Cams roller tip rockers. It should help in the torque dept now /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

Doug /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
Sweet. Dont forget to get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. You will need it.
You can get one from:cfm-tec.com
They have a lot of good stuff to improve the TBI system

I built a TBI engine for my buddy's K2500 using the edelbrock performer intake and cam along with a set of World centerbolt torker heads, and TB mods from Cfmtech. It still has the stock chip, it runs very good.
 
Im not trying to hijack you post, but I was thinking about getting a new cam as well. Have you looked at this one from jegs? cam
Its the second one down. 272-280. Does anyone know how well this cam will work with the stock ecm?
-Harrison
 
Cam's too hot for a typical TBI setup, even with an aftermarket chip, it's not going to run to it's potential.
The Crane 2030 seems to be the favored choice for waking up the TBI motors. (plus they are computer friendly)

[ QUOTE ]
Im not trying to hijack you post, but I was thinking about getting a new cam as well. Have you looked at this one from jegs? cam
Its the second one down. 272-280. Does anyone know how well this cam will work with the stock ecm?
-Harrison

[/ QUOTE ]
 
[ QUOTE ]
cfm-tec.com
They have a lot of good stuff to improve the TBI system

[/ QUOTE ]
I got their TBI spacer and was very happy with it. A friend of mine put it on his '91 Sub R1500 and was happy with it as well. I've talked to the guys there and they seem to be very knowledgeable about TBI stuff.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
cfm-tec.com
They have a lot of good stuff to improve the TBI system

[/ QUOTE ]
I got their TBI spacer and was very happy with it. A friend of mine put it on his '91 Sub R1500 and was happy with it as well. I've talked to the guys there and they seem to be very knowledgeable about TBI stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, I ordered and recieved their TBI power plate, and tbi injector spacers. I am holding off on installing them until after x-mas though. That is when I plan on ordering the rest of the package from them. That will be the adjustable fuel presure regulator and guage, as well as a nother air induction adding device. CFM recommends installing all of the parts at the same time for the best performance gains. They say 40 hp and 2-3 mpg! I saw the article in trucks magazine where they installed those smae 5 parts and got a 2-3 average mpg increase, and they also said they noticed a huge power gain. After x-mas when I get all of the parts and install them, I will let you guys know how they work out. Right now, I am waiting on my shock mount kit to arrive from missouri offroad. I cant wait to drive around in my truck with shocks that are actually on the rear of the vehicle. /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif
-Harrison
 
Yeah. I have all their TBI stuff . It does work as claimed.
The only thing I dont have is their blurprinted TB. I ported mine myself with a dremel its tool not that hard to do. All I can say is, if you instal all those power adders at at once. You will be impressed. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
You should have a performance exhaust to get the most out of everything. The stock Cat and Muff are very restrictive.
BTW I get 18 mpg at 65 mph on 33" tires with 3.73 gears
 
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BTW I get 18 mpg at 65 mph on 33" tires with 3.73 gears

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Thunder what kind of tranny are you running to get that MPG?
 
700r4 plus I air up the tires to around 32 PSI if I am doing a lot of highway driving. That helps a lot
 
Yeah I took thunders advice earlier this year and installed all of cfm's installs. Very nice power gain, but I have not measured my fuel mileage yet. Keep forgetting to write down the miles. I still need to do my exhuast and change gears for my 35's to 4.56 ratio, but ran out of money. Now my NP208 is going and I'm going to have to tear it apart soon and probably do a rebuild, depending on how bad it is.
 
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