Tbi With Vortecs

[Nicks 72]

Can Vortec heads be used on a stock 350 TBI motor with stock throttlebody/computer and still see performance gains or do they flow too much for the injectors? Any idea about emission output/changes when using vortec heads(will it smog) and finally is there an adapter I can buy to allow the TBI to fit onto the edelbrock manifold I was planning on using, and what about keeping the EGR? Or is there something easier or better to use then Vortecs?

 

[K5Chris]

http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/2172/SDPC-Vortec-Cylinder-Heads-and-Head-Kits.htm

you gotta plumb egr from the intake manifold to the passenger header.

personally, i'd rather an aftermarket head like the World Torquer S/R. they are bolt-on ready to go and require not special manifold, or egr work.

you'll prolly need a custom chip for either though.

 

[Nicks 72]

Thanx for the info Chris. Have you done this or any other performance mods on a TBI. If so Is it worth the trouble/expense or should I just keep truggin along with the stock but reliable +-210HP factory Motor.

 

[K5Chris]

i did some resarch on it.... and decided to rebuild my motor back to stock. my main goals when i rebuilt it was to have something reliable, and not cost alot. its definately reliable, and i only spent about 1k bucks. with the 5.13 gears, i've got all the power i need right now. i wanna upgrade my top end sometime in the future, but, for now, stock is good enough.

you could just stick a nice comp cams performance flat tappet cam in there and maybe some fuel pressure mods from www.cfm-tech.com. you got decent exhaust already? headers/exhaust would be the first thing id do.... then, maybe some cfm tech toys and a cam. if you got the cash, get some heads and rockers. all depends on your budget and what you wanna do with it. the vortec head swap gets real expensive. your gonna spend 1000 if your gonna use the gm intake. you could do world torquer s/r's for about 750.

you could prolly get away with a performance fuel injection cam and the cfm tech toys without doing anything with your ecm.... but if you upgrade your heads.... you're going to need a custom burned chip..... www.tbichips.com can set you up with that.

 

[Thunder]

The cheapest way to go as far as heads go is a set of L 98 iron heads. They are direct bolt on center bolt Heads and will work with TBI no problem. They came on pre 92 TBI/TPI 350 Camaros, Birds, and Vettes, Before Chevy came out with the LT1. They flow a lot better than TBI truck heads.
Should be able to pick up a set of rebuilts fairly cheap or get new ones for around $600. You should also get a better intake manifold if you want to make power. The stock one doesn't flow well.
They will work without a custom chip if you up the fuel pressure. But it would be best to get a new chip programed.
They should be emission frendly.

 

[Nicks 72]

Thanx Guys for the info. Ill look into these L98 heads or the Worlds. I am not looking for gobs of power, it would be nice to bump it up 25 to 40 hp someway though. but I dont want to comprimise on the throttle bodies great reliability.

 

[6.2Blazer]

A guy here at work just swapped in a GM 350 Vortec crate motor in his '94 that had TBI. He's using all of the stock TBI and ECM stuff right now and he says he has had no issues and it runs much stronger than the original 350. For the EGR he simply plugged it off (no emissions testing here). He does plan on having a custom chip burned and maybe some fuel mods down the road, but he's pleased with it for now.