help with tpi into malibu

[Doober]

As far as a sending unit goes, just use a TBI Monte sending unit with the TPI pump, all bolt-in Just make sure the rest of the fuel system can hold the pressure.

I'm not discounting the performance of a 305, they do perform fairly decent given their size... but when you can put nearly 100% of the engine parts into a 350, you'll get that 13% performance (at least theoretically) you wouldn't get with the 305. I don't race my car in a class with displacement limitations, so I don't worry about that

 

[Anonymous]

Certainly.

A bigger engine generally speaking will make bigger power.

But why didn't you make a 383 out of your 350? You can make a 383 for the same price as a rebuilt 350 now. The argument is exactly the same.

A 305 is more efficient than a 350. Gas isn't cheap. If I lose 20hp and gain 5mpg because of 45ci, I'll take it. Providing I am still making over 300hp with my 305. The days of inefficient, huge intake and exhaust ports are over. We can make engines better, we have the technology.

If I was making a pure race car and all I needed the engine to do was fit under the hood, and fuel economy was a non-issue, I'd go with a much larger engine than can be made from a 350 block. Then you could get into the LS series, or a big-block, or a 500ci Caddy engine. Throw price in as an issue and I'd still at least find a 400, or a junkyard 5.3 LS motor. Wait, that's less than the magic 350ci...must be junk. :roll:

 

[ILLEGAL REGAL]

why not build a 4.3 v6 if fuel economy is the focus... heck put a 4cyl hybrid in it

 

[Doober]

I already had the 350, it was sitting in the barn for about 7 years before I built it this past spring. The difference between building a 305/350 and a 383 is you have to start doing custom work to the block to get things to fit. The total cost to build my engine the way it sits is about $700 (should've spent the extra $30 on rings, but I was in a rush of course :roll, and it puts down close to 375hp. If the tires were taller on it I bet I could hit 20+ mpg with it (averaged 17+ on a 400 mile trip). You might get slightly better than that with a TPI setup in a G-Body, but I wouldn't switch to EFI with expectations of shocking fuel economy (same thing with the 305 which got about 20mpg before I replaced it).

I never discounted engine size as a whole, I was stating it would be easier to make more power with a 350, because you can only pump so much air before you need more displacement (especially with the 50-year-old technology design), which is where forced induction and nitrous come in. I definitely didn't bring the LS series into question, that's a whole new ball of wax, seeing that it's a 10-year-old technology, and is 99.9% different in design from the Gen I/II engines. What interchanges? The bellhousing bolt pattern :lol:

 

[lester622]

I put a 305 TPI in my 79 wagon. I have learned a few things.

-First off, 305's are a great underrated motor. They're dirt cheap because the hillbilly engine hoarders think they're junk. Let them have their oil buring 350's. If size is that important, why don't people built 400's? Or 454's? or 572's? Maybe put six 572's in a row!

305's rule!

Malibuguy is that you ?

 

[78maliburat]

I put a 305 TPI in my 79 wagon. I have learned a few things.

-First off, 305's are a great underrated motor. They're dirt cheap because the hillbilly engine hoarders think they're junk. Let them have their oil buring 350's. If size is that important, why don't people built 400's? Or 454's? or 572's? Maybe put six 572's in a row!

305's rule!

Malibuguy is that you ?

hahaha sure sounds like it ..just because you cant afford anything else why bash others..ive had a few 305s that out performed 350s case in point 98 silverrado ext cab truck had a 305 vortec i bought it new it would run circles a round my 2000 truck with the 5.3

 

[Anonymous]

First: $700 for a rebuild is cheap for ANY engine, shy of a Lawn Boy.

Second: The main reason LS engines are better performers is due to head flow, some light weight metal, and a roller cam. Engine builders have always known if you maintain higher velocity in head flow you will get more power.
They all have pistons and crankshafts and one camshaft, a bunch of pushrods and 2 valves per cylinder. This is all 100+ year old technology. Toss in some well mapped fuel injection, and you have a very nice internal combustion engine, hardly revolutionary as far as I'm concerned. No flux capacitor, no jet engines.

Third: Based on the mileage reviews (understanding it is not exactly apples to apples) a 17mpg 350 vs. a 20mpg 305 puts the 305 with 15% better fuel economy on a 13% smaller engine, with an estimated 13% less power than a similar 350. My bet still stands with the 305 as an all around performance and economy driver.

Fourth: Take ANY engine, toss different cams and a matching way to throw in more fuel and you can have whatever power level you want. Limited only by durability, ingenuity, and head flow. HP numbers mean very little to me because of this.

I threw around $2500 into my 305 engine including all of the TPI components and a new set of Vortec heads. I wouldn't call that chump change, but I took shortcuts I thought were ok. I also have a hard time justifying spending much more than that on an engine. But I'm cheap by reasoning, not necessity.

The initial question as I see is back to what engine to throw in a car. Simple math: All the parts you have + all the parts you want - all the parts you can sell = 1/3 the actual cost of replacing an engine.