TBI TPI? Can I get a V8-> English translator?!

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I spent the morning calling companies asking what exactly was included in their adapters. Here's what I found:

Marks adapter: $1200 shipped to east coast for everything to adapt the stock clutch without drivetrain mods.

Ranger Torque Splitter: $1700 shipped to the east cost (including motor mounts) they'll make the ranger with a 27% overdrive OR 17% underdrive. They said they build all fo them to order but said it could be shipped in just over a week!

Downey: $1100ish I can't remeber the exact number cause they said the word "drive shaft mods"

Man-a-fre: $1200ish I can't remember exactly again cause they make a special clutch and pressure plate that "acts" like the chevy clutch. I definately want to stay away from "special" parts on my swap

So just like cruisergreg's been saying "this is gonna be more than $2000" haha! boy is he right so the project has expanded! I'm gonna go after my frame rust in the rear and pull the carpet bed line the interior and catch up on some other stuff (read RUST) to make this project a top to bottom revitalization of the cruiser. Yes, this will go outside my "budget" which was blown away a while ago but I think will be worth it in 3 years when I've knocked out most of this now.

Here's the motor swap update: After considering the adapters I think the extra $500 to go to the ranger torque splitter is well worth it. Also, I'm going to go with the underdrive unit which will bring me back to stock gearing with 34"-35"s tires.

Another stupid motor question: Will the 350TBI be the same reguardless of it coming out of an automatic or manual tranny vehicle?

thanks and please keep posting up
Chris
 
DO NOT , I repeat , DO NOT get a RANGER UNDERDRIVE!!!! Get the OVERDRIVE dude, trust me I know. Most people with these rigs dream about a Toyota 5 speed swap, which is 18 percent OD. With the Ranger OD you trump them with 27 percent OD; takes a huge load off your V8 over time; Read: Longevity. 17 % underdrive is really nothing special; many other ways to gear it down later. The OD will make your cruiser ROCK on the highway. With tires up to 33 in, the stock gearing is good enough for most. Later you can do like I did and throw in a Aussie Toy 4 speed with granny-ish low (I think 30 PERCENT lower than stock) for 700 bucks near new from Specter. Or regear your axles later if you are sold on 34s. I LOVE my overdrive; DO NOT GET THE UNDERDRIVE! (17 PERCENT IS NOT WORTH IT.)
 
TheGr8Doughboy ,
your right they are $1175.00 aus , but that works out to about $ 820.00 u.s. , or do you mean $1200.us if thats the case thats a fair difference $ 1715.00 aus you can almost by two kits !!!

cheers :beer:
hey charger.
 
Hey Charger, my quote was from Adavace Adapters in Califorina in US $$ 1200 for the kit and 1700 for the Ranger. My understanding is they distribute for Marks here in the States.

DocB, Overdrive eh? Alright. You say most want the 5 speed with the 18% OD. I effectively have that with the tires I'm running right? (34"/28"=20% OD) even if I go back to 33's I'll still be at 18%. So why not use the 17% UD to gear it back to stock, take some of the load off my clutch and avoid gearing down at the difs at this point? I think the gearing charts say that I'll be turning 2500 RPM at 70 MPH 1:1 given my setup so 2100 rpm with the overdrive unit on top. Will I be under the power band of the TBI that I'll have to shift on any incline?

Thanks again,
Chris

BTW no one anwered my ignorant question about pulling the 350 from a car that came with an auto tranny. Will it be the same motor? output shaft?
 
doughboy:

i bet there is a difference in the crank end somewhere. one hooks up to a torque converter and one to a clutch, there must be some difference. i bet whatever vendor you go with for an adaptor will be able to tell you if there is a diference. i know there are electronically controlled GM auto trannys, but i'm not sure if the engine programming cares what trans is behind it. "it depends is probably the answer" i'm babbling, sorry about that. someone competent will answer later.

i just want to know about VA smog laws... i'm in california. smog laws suck here, and make engine swaps a llittle more difficult. as far as the engine is concerned my first worry is the smog control laws. do you have to deal with those?
 
youre not going to get a FJ60 V8 swap done for under $2000, unless you are monster garage and you get $4k in "freebies"

It will cost twice as much as planned and take 3 times as much time and efffort.

just off the top of my head for a TPI into my FJ40 I spent $2000 on adapters, clutch, wiring, ECM, etc, and thats not including the engine.

Sell that hammered cruiser, and buy one that has a reliable 2F in it. Thats my advice.
 
baldredhead, in northern VA around DC they have nasty smog laws but we don't have any around here (western part of the state) so I don't anticipate any problems with that. I was assuming that you'd have sensors on the motor telling the tranny RPMs but the info would be one way, for motor to tranny, so the motor wouldn't care what the tranny was doing... just the throttle input. We shall see!

Brett, yeah, the "budget" got tossed untill I get some more info, it'll cost well over $2000. My problem with the 2F is that it won't maintain speeds above 50mph around here. Up to there its awsome, so unless I do a motor swap I'm going to probably find something else to DD and let this rest till the weekends and the snow.

Thanks
Chris
 
so what would be involved as far as smog is concerned with the swap to a 350?
obviously there would not be all of the smog parts associated with the 2F.

..gathering information for my future plans!
 
I figure the smog tests won't be here for at least 5-10 years then I can slap on the antique tags and dodge them anyway. If I'm pulling the motor from a car wouldn't the cruiser pass smog if the car did? And if the 350TBI won't pass they'll have to pull every 80's car off the road right?

Chris
 
RedFJ40, my biggest hold up is compatibility. You pose an interesting question, I thought, old cruiser needs old motor. Can I put a new V8 in? Like an LT1 or something? Will I end up with less problems on a new more complicated (electronically speaking at least) motor? Wouldn't I benifit from an older motor, carb and everything? Where would you suggest sourcing a "new" old motor (rebuilt 350 carborated chevy)? I found some online places with 7 year 70,000 mile warrenty on rebuilt 350 for $1000. In that case I could buy an old car that no longer ran to get my PS pump, alt, carb (then reuilt) etc.

DocB, after reading the 4.56s v 4.88 thread I understand more where you're coming from. Only way to go is gearing down... so I should gear up while I have the chance.

Thanks and keep posting!
Chris
 
TheGr8Doughboy said:
BTW no one anwered my ignorant question about pulling the 350 from a car that came with an auto tranny. Will it be the same motor? output shaft?
Click to expand...
No difference in motors between auto and standard, at least in the TBI era. Difference is whether the motor came out of a truck (4 bolt main) or car (2 bolt main)
 
TheGr8Doughboy said:
Can I put a new V8 in? Like an LT1 or something? Will I end up with less problems on a new more complicated (electronically speaking at least) motor? Wouldn't I benifit from an older motor, carb and everything? Where would you suggest sourcing a "new" old motor (rebuilt 350 carborated chevy)? I found some online places with 7 year 70,000 mile warrenty on rebuilt 350 for $1000. In that case I could buy an old car that no longer ran to get my PS pump, alt, carb (then reuilt) etc.
Chris
Click to expand...
Most locales are pretty reasonable about engine swaps as long as the tailpipe sniffer doesn't exceed the vehicle's stock emissions limits. You'll do better than the 2F with all but the worst induction systems.

Don't bother with a carbed system as you'll end up fiddling with it constantly. The TBI engines had only the engine manageed by the computer and are a little easier to swap. The TPI and MOI motors had the engine and tranny managed together by the computer and are therefore more complicated when switching into a vehicle with a different tranny.

I recommend this book: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Chevrolet_TPI_TBI_V-8.html
 
Cruisergreg said:
Most locales are pretty reasonable about engine swaps as long as the tailpipe sniffer doesn't exceed the vehicle's stock emissions limits. You'll do better than the 2F with all but the worst induction systems.

Don't bother with a carbed system as you'll end up fiddling with it constantly. The TBI engines had only the engine manageed by the computer and are a little easier to swap. The TPI and MOI motors had the engine and tranny managed together by the computer and are therefore more complicated when switching into a vehicle with a different tranny.

I recommend this book: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Chevrolet_TPI_TBI_V-8.html
Click to expand...

good info! thanks for posting that.
:cheers:
 
Cruisergreg said:
No difference in motors between auto and standard, at least in the TBI era. Difference is whether the motor came out of a truck (4 bolt main) or car (2 bolt main)
Click to expand...

not true. some of the engines had smog pumps, some did not. from what i've seen. most of the very late 80s to early 90s engines in a 4wd auto application did not have a smog pump. not sure if there's a clear cut way to determine what had the pump and what did'nt.
 
orangefj45 said:
not true. some of the engines had smog pumps, some did not. from what i've seen. most of the very late 80s to early 90s engines in a 4wd auto application did not have a smog pump. not sure if there's a clear cut way to determine what had the pump and what did'nt.
Click to expand...
Smog pump is an accessory. I'm talking about the basic long block motor. There are a bizillion combinations of accessories across all the vehicle models.
 
orangefj45 said:
absolutely. it is nice to have the vin # from a donor vehicle without the smog pump when doing a conversion, in case you have to go to a referee like we do in CA. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

that is a neat trick. so they see an FJ60 but a little creative welding has the VIN reading 1976 somethingorother?


doughboy, as far as swaping an LT1 into the LC goes anything can be done. however the jist of this thread is that the more complicated it is the more $$$. newer engines have electronics integrated more and more so the complication goes up. a friend is having (yes, not DIY) an LT1 installed into his mid 80s camaro. there was a special guy the shop called in to do the wire harness magic, and as far as the smog goes his 80 something camaro is now a 90 something camaro
 
by dodnor vehicle vin i meant the gm truck or van that the engine came out of. i would'nt wanna be caught manipulating the vin # on a truck.

and for the wiring harness, you can buy them already made up for just about any application. i've used the howell harness a few times and you can literaly install them in 15 minutes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom