i have a 98 350 vortec out of a boat, the boat versions had 300hp stock, they are pretty built motors for sthe most part. it has the powder rods and gm performance crank..... i have the vortec heads which should work good for what i am after, i am happy with around 300 hp if that rating is anything close to right, thing is i wanna run my tpi setup on it and it wont bolt to the heads. so do i drop 500 bucks on a tpi vortec base manifold? or do a holley stealth ram with the tpi parts running it and spend 550 for the intake and fuel rail? or do i spend 500 on some different heads to work with the tpi? if so what heads are good for 500ish? can i touch heads for 500 that are worth a damn? or do i just go back carbed even though i have all the tpi parts, 58 mm throttle body, chip..... urgh
need advise on a tpi build up and heads/manifolds
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I'm leaning towards the stealth ram. Mostly because I think the stock tpi intake wouldn't live up to the ability of the vortec heads. It would give you more rome to upgrade later.
aother thing is the motor came with the ramjet cam which if i stick with i already have the existing heads set up for. i was thinking a lt4 hot cam if i keep in the direction i am thinking but that will be later on after the car is done.
as far as the stealth ram i have really been leaning that way for awhile but i love the look of the tpi which is what got me into efi, i could throw the tpi in my 442 with 882 heads also so maybe 2 efi cars? is it wrong to put efi in a 442? many already will look down on the chevy motor going in it and then take away the 4 barrel portion of a 4-4-2?? i do have 2 tpi setups, 3 harnesses and computers so maybe i can sell one tpi setup and order the stealth ram, use the holley 58mm throttle body on it, the holley fuel rail and then the spare harness and computer i have, i bet i can get the 350 to cover the manifold from 1 of the tpi setups....
decisions decisions!
as far as the stealth ram i have really been leaning that way for awhile but i love the look of the tpi which is what got me into efi, i could throw the tpi in my 442 with 882 heads also so maybe 2 efi cars? is it wrong to put efi in a 442? many already will look down on the chevy motor going in it and then take away the 4 barrel portion of a 4-4-2?? i do have 2 tpi setups, 3 harnesses and computers so maybe i can sell one tpi setup and order the stealth ram, use the holley 58mm throttle body on it, the holley fuel rail and then the spare harness and computer i have, i bet i can get the 350 to cover the manifold from 1 of the tpi setups....
decisions decisions!
regalman4925 said:
Go for it! Being a 442 wouldn't stop me from doing it how I wanted it. Then again I would build ANY car the way I wanted to.
that would cost a bit more and i already have a tpi setup so if i do efi its gotta be tpi. i might just do it anyways on that car but i a painting it first so the efi will be awhile from now
Which tpi base manifold do you have? The 87' and newer fit the tbi heads with the 72* center bolt holes, the 86' and earlier fit the old style with the 90* bolts in the center, unless you have one from the L-98 all of those had the early style bolt pattern. If you have the early style, and you want to stick with it, look for a set of 416 cast# 305 heads, these flow pretty good and have 58cc combustion chambers and will bolt right up. If you have the newer style look for the 081 cast# 305 tbi head, they are the same but they have center valve cover bolts and the middle bolts for the intake are at 72*. If you have dish tops in the shortblock the 58cc combustion chambers will bump the compression a little. If you really dig deep and have the older style, look for a set of the L-98 aluminum heads.
i have one of each of the stock base manifolds, vortecs bolt pattern and runner size is different so they wont work. i dont want to buy another set of used heads, by the time i buy them and have all the work done on them i can just go get some cheap aftermarket heads. if i stick to stodk its these vortecs. what iron aftermarket heads are good and cheap?
just spend the money one the stealth ram for the vortecs. i kick myself all the time for spending almost that on a base. and by the time you buy runners, port the plenum to match. your up quite a bit of money. and hit a wall at 300hp. but if you are set on keeping the look ill hit you up when i get my money together for my stealth ram swap and see if you still need a vortec base plate. jt
I haven't used the Vortec TPI base but from what I gather on ThirdGen.org they are not impressed with it. If you'll be happy with the 300hp you mentioned it might be worth buying a used one if you can find one for a good price. Once you get the TPI running, I suspect you'll be like most of us (I'm guilty too!!!) that 300 hp will lead to wanting more. In that aspect, I'd vote for the Stealth Ram. But make sure you'll have the hood clearance.
Concerning the Ramjet cam, PCMforless.com can burn you a chip to run a bigger cam so don't let that worry you. I'm building a 385 with all the goodies and Accel SuperRam intake and I'll be running a Comp 280XFI (230/236 on 113* LSA) hyd roller and some guys are running cams in the high 240's. But, they are burning their own chips, too. You can get everything you need to burn your own chips for less than most companies charge for just one chip. See http://www.moates.net for chip burning equipment. For guidance on tuning/burning chips, the best place is http://www.thirdgen.org
TPI the 442 !!!??? Um...you're not doing anything not-removable (not that I'd let that worry me anyway) so GO FOR IT!!! Remember, even Olds changed what the "4-4-2" meant over the various years. It's your car, have fun with it!
Concerning the Ramjet cam, PCMforless.com can burn you a chip to run a bigger cam so don't let that worry you. I'm building a 385 with all the goodies and Accel SuperRam intake and I'll be running a Comp 280XFI (230/236 on 113* LSA) hyd roller and some guys are running cams in the high 240's. But, they are burning their own chips, too. You can get everything you need to burn your own chips for less than most companies charge for just one chip. See http://www.moates.net for chip burning equipment. For guidance on tuning/burning chips, the best place is http://www.thirdgen.org
TPI the 442 !!!??? Um...you're not doing anything not-removable (not that I'd let that worry me anyway) so GO FOR IT!!! Remember, even Olds changed what the "4-4-2" meant over the various years. It's your car, have fun with it!
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