[Gmecm] Chevy 350 Carburated to TBI / TPI?

[Aphelion79]

Whoops, to finish that... so at the Junkyard look for a TBI'ed truck, 
latest model being a '86, for the whole setup... anyone have pictures of 
the differences or is there some big obvious thing I could notice?

Aphelion79 wrote:
> Yeah, depending on prices of the adapters (compared to prices, if I 
> can find any, of some junkyard intakes for the correct years) I'll 
> probably go that route... The engine is brand new with less than 300 
> miles on it... so everything about it is currently in near pristine 
> condition last time I checked...
> Jay Vessels wrote:
>> Hi there!
>>
>> No need to swap heads.  There are several options for the 
>> TBI-specific intake:
>>
>> 1)  Grab an adapter to bolt the TBI to an existing 4bbl. intake. 
>> Holley, etc. make them, or make your own -- there is a drawing on the 
>> GMECM website's incoming directory somewhere.
>>
>> 2)  Grab a stock TBI intake from a mid-80s fullsize truck.  These are 
>> likely to be hard to find, since by '87 GM went to centerbolt valve 
>> cover heads which have a different angle on the four center intake 
>> bolts.
>>
>> 3)  Grab an intake from a newer ('87-, but not Vortec) car/truck 
>> (i.e. F or B body, or fullsize truck) and redrill the center 
>> boltholes.  I've done this but do not like it at all.  Getting the 
>> bolts drilled right isn't fun, and I made special washers to sit 
>> under the bolt heads to make sure there was enough surface for 
>> clamping.  Personally, I would not do this again.
>>
>> 4)  Buy an aftermarket intake for a TBI and older heads.  Holley 
>> 300-49 is a choice.
>>
>> If I was on a tight budget or if I had a really nice intake, I'd do 
>> #1.   I might do #2 if I got really lucky in the salvage yards. 
>> Otherwise, I'd do #4.
>>
>> For TPI, it's a similar issue.  1985-1986 baseplates will bolt to the 
>> heads you have, but after that they're designed for centerbolt heads. 
>> These may be easier to modify, or mix-and-match 
>> runners/plenum/baseplates based on what you dig up.
>>
>> Jay Vessels
>> 1982 Chevrolet S-10 Sport, 2.8V6 TBI
>> 1984 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer Sport, 2.8V6 (TBI pending)
>>
>> Aphelion79 wrote:
>>> Is this possible?  I have a 79' Chevy C20 sitting in my back yard 
>>> with a carburetor that sucks.  About 300 bucks for a new one... so I 
>>> was wondering can I take the head off of a newer model truck with a 
>>> 350 and TBI (or off a car with TPI) from the Junkyard and if it will 
>>> bolt on directly without any problems?
>>>
>>>
>>> *I realize I also need the wiring harness and computer (I've done a 
>>> few FI swaps on vehicles already, but this one seems to be the 
>>> easiest looking like everything will bolt right on...)
>>
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