Chevy & GMC Vans

i was talking to my "parts guy" yesterday, and we got on the subject of v8's. he informed me that he has a 88 vin w v8 from one of his camaros. it is stripped down, he has 2 sets of heads, and an assortment of cams to choose from. now, when it comes to totally stripped engines, i ain't that good. he tells me that he has everything i need, EXCEPT the intake manifold. also, did i mention it was free?

so i guess i'm looking for suggestions. oh, i guess i should tell ya's that it's a 305. i'm assuming that the cam's will have part #'s on them correct? he also have the computer and harness for it, but wouldn't that mean i'd need to use my 700r? if that was the case, then maybe i shouldn't put it in my awd, maybe i should put it in my 2wd astro. like i said, just lookin' for suggestions.

i'm excited.

The 305 is a great motor. I've used several. With a little better cam and induction system they perform well. And FREE!!!!!!! That's great.

I'll have to respectfully disagrea about the 305 being OK as I have one and I hate it. They just don't put out the torque needed to push these vans around. ESPECIALLY an AWD. I used it for the same reason, cheap. If it is free, go for it but you will soon want more. The plus would be that you will have everthing setup when\if you decide on a better motor. Rather than using the whole harness you have you can convert your CPI to TBI and use your 4L60E trans. I have a full write up on but unfortunately I didn't realize I did not copy the whole thing over here from AS.com. Some of it is here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=188

Free is good. It will be a decent step up from a 4.3L, and more importantly it has better aftermarket support (parts are cheaper) than a 4.3L. That being said, did it come from an auto or a manual transmissioned Camaro? the manual transmission cam is not great but very decent, the automatic cam is awful and not worth bothering about. Supposedly a lot of the TPI auto cars came with the hotter cam anyways, even though they never oficially did. If you have a set of dial calipers measure the base circle and then measure the top of the lobe, deduct the two and that's the lift. I can probably tell you which cam you have off that info. the 2WD would be nice for oil pan and weight reasons, but other than that the AWD would probably be more fun. (think Syclone or Typhoon)

Besides this I will also add that a TBI intake will bolt onto that engine, if you want to go that route, even though you will need a chip cut. You need to bypass the VATS system on the stock chip to swap it, which the directions are out there. It is easiest if you know the value of the resistor chip in his key but you can do it by brute force if need be.

What casting #s do you have for heads? just wanting to be sure you use the best of the lot for your build up.

i'll be picking it up tomorrow, so once i have it home, i'll post whatever numbers i can find on whatever. would it be "easier" plugin wise to keep the spider injection set up, or wouldn't it matter much since there are 7 yrs difference in the engines?

thanks again

Probably be easier to find a TBI van and convert to it, then convert to TPI honestly unless you're into re-working that harness fairly extensively. I could probably look at it and help you out.

my 94 astro is tbi. i would like to stay away from swapping harnesses if i could. but with that being said, i gotta do what i gotta do.

The 94 would be easier to swap than the 95 then to be honest. There are some things that may need to be added wire wise, but it will be a lot less than the CPI one. Besides that, you may be able to get away without adding any harness wires.

the only thing i'm worried about is where the accessories bolt on the front. is that going to be a big issue? other than that , the astro should be good to go

Since it's an 88+ your accessory brackets will work. That being said, they may or may not clearance if you use a TPI intake. You need to measure to be sure probably, but I'm wanting to say no just by eyeballing the stuff I've got.

so u'r saying that i may have some issues using a tbi setup?

oh ya, i found out that the motor was originally teamed up with an automatic tranny. However, i'm told that it "has been cammed to death"

we'll see.

coolen wrote:so u'r saying that i may have some issues using a tbi setup?

oh ya, i found out that the motor was originally teamed up with an automatic tranny. However, i'm told that it "has been cammed to death"

we'll see.

A non stock cam or even a good stock cam will put you way ahead of what you woulda been doing. You'll have no issues setting it up as a TBI engine, bit if you use a TPI intake the TBI brackets may become an issue is all because the throttle body sticks out the front.

sorry for sounding retarded here, but I'm confused

Could you please enlighten me on a TPI set up. I know what TBI is, and that W family engine CSFI? But not sure on the TPI.

Thanks!!
AND NO POKIN' FUN LOL

TPI... Tunded port injection. It's name given to the intake system that has runners that are tuned to a power bandwith. It has an injector at each cylinder.


CFSI.. that's knows as poor mans fuel injection. That's got a single fuel injector with a bunch of poppet valves at each cylinder.

The TPI manifold was used on 85-92 Camaros with a 305 or 350 engine (87-92) as well as 85-91 Corvettes. Here is a pic of mine. They also used different heads as well as could have used different cams depending on the year and transmission combinations.