Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Mild confusion regarding engines

BigRed

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2001
Messages
948
Location
Edmonton
Corvette
1985 Bright Red Rocket
I was looking into crates (Dreamin) and ran across HT383's and ZZ4's and such but anything good seems to have fine print that says for 1976 and previous...

Im guessing they have no outlets for sensors and perhaps the heads have a different port shape and such..

I have a 1985 and I want to end up with a TPiS miniram with a new engine like these ones that suggest 325-400Hp. But I also don't want to change my computer (Been through this) but simply RePROM it. I would also like it to bolt up to my existing bellhousing for my DN 4+3 but want 4 bolt mains..

I just wanna swap engines!! LOL

Im doing the rear end sooner than this mod though to 3:53's or 3:73's
 
It is all about the emissions. They HAVE to print that. Even the Miniram is "off road use" only, as it has no EGR port.

Gear wise, either one of these gears will make your current TPI motor rather breathless by 50 mph at WOT. I would make sure you had the whole plan laid out before you pop just the gears in.


You could still buy my 90.........Now it has a brand new suspension, brakes, shocks, u joints, clutch, etc.....and 3.75 gears ready to go. No assembly required.
 
If your goal is 325 to 400 hp then a TPIS MiniRam is not needed. You can achieve those power goasl with a larger intake manifold, large tube runners & a ported plenum. Of course you will need a cam & heads to compliment that.

That being said, I believe the ZZ4 has a different water pump & distributor that will not work with the TPI cars.

IMHO, a TPI with a 3.73/3.75 gear is over kill. 3.54/3.45 at the most. You might as well keep the 3.07 if you are going to keep the TPI stlye setup. If you are sure you are going to go miniram then a gear swap is a good idea.

You really want to do more than just pick a creat engine and set some power goals and a budget goal. Then you can comfortably take it from there.
 
www.paceparts.com

They have a great starter motor for us... A new caprice tbi 350 with 300 hp. It has a roller cam, nodular crank and 64cc heads...with a little modifications they say you can squeeze 350 out of it with a cam change. This is a brand new motor with a 3 year 50,000 mile warranty. It also is not drilled for a fuel pump because it is meant for fuel injection. Now add a set of heads from Edelbrock with the intake and large runners and the 3702 cam and you got over 350 hp. Engine is currently running 1507.16 which is almost the cost of getting one rebuilt the right way. It comes with oil pan, valve covers, timing cover.
I have already ordered mine, along with 60899 heads and 3702 cam.
 
A ZZ4 engine will fit in your car, just transfer your intake over to the new engine. The 85 is just a regular SBC, and so is the ZZ4.

Just know that a TPI will not make that advertised HP, the MR will. Lower rear gears will kill a TPI, but will go good with the MR.

Youll need a reprogrammed chip for the new cam in the ZZ4 for optimum power, and another after you put the MR on.
 
Thats what Ive come to undertstand as well. Im sold on the Miniram for more than a few reasons and also a block change is going to be in order hence the idea of the redi-built crates.

Chris: LOVE to! But some assembly required is almost all the fun LOL. (Wish I could bud)

So the gear swap with the current TPI setup is a mistake

BUT with MR its a good idea so..

3:53ish is a good choice 3:73's are overkill.

And the blocks match up correct?

So heres the plan

Miniram W/ injector change (Mine are old)
Block (eg ZZ4) Long or Short have to decide on head and Cam config's
3:53's
PROM change out

So this will work? The car won't be breathless at 50? Most important it will haul some serious a$$?

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! and... LOL
 
Depending on what cam you pick (ZZ9, ZZ409, ZZX, or whatever CC grind) that will work fine and will haul up to 6-7K.
 
You might be happer with a super ram, I hear they are easier to tune, plus make power thru the rpm range. the miniram makes more power up high. (you might allready know this)
what are your plans for the car ? street-drag-auto x-or weekend
warrior ?
383 can be had, or bullt pretty cheep, come up with a workable plan and stick to it.
good luck.
 
I was going through the idea of 383's but for the price of the job and the warranty I might as well just stick to a BRAND new engine thats designed to work the ponys just the same.

I didn't know that about the super ram I only saw the price being 3 times higher! 1100 Vs 3500. Thats why I picked the TPiS and also people here seem to say nothing but good things about em.

This is a weekend warrior to daily driver in summer car. So warranty's and reliabilty's are a super plus... Also the 383's have ground down cases which can result in a interior cracked block so thats been scaring me about them to.
 
chris touched on the 76 lingo...

basically when they dyno and get these figures on the pre 76 motors they are with a 600-750 cfm carb a single plain manifold like a torker 2 and a nice set of stock heads (no porting or polishing) and somewhat radical but still streetable cam. this is the potential of the motor with no emissions needed in most states. thats why the pre 76 guys have the radical solid lifter cams, hi rise manifolds and even bigger carb(s) as in the 850 cfm style which will make even more power. with the TPI you can still achieve these numbers but will need not only a good strong radical cam but also head work with a good set of heads to start with while opening up the intake like tnt said if you go with a larger intake manifold, large tube runners & a ported plenum you'll achieve your goals.

don't be afraid of the 383 stroker beast! a good machine shop knows how to mill the block.
 
69MyWay said:
The super ram gives you some hood problems from what I recall. It is a tad too tall.

Thats the Stealthram thats too tall, the Superram fits just fine.
 
Thanks Mic

But what about the prices on the SuperRam am I incorrect in saying they are exactly 3 times the money of the TPiS? If they are I really can't see how they are THREE times better. (Better mabe but that much??)
 
a superram does not cost $3500. You are proabbly looking at a complete superram kit with computer, wire harness, throttle body, injectors,etc.....one for a carb to efi conversion.

Or you are looking at the BigBlock Chevy SuperRam package that cost $3500. This one looks different from the 350/400 c.i. superram system.

You should be able to find a complete superram (base, plenum & runners) for about $800 to $900

And you will need a 58mm throttle body with the superram, no matter what size engine its going on.

BTW, your '85 motor is a great platform. Lightweight crank and a set of very good rods. So conisder a quality rebuild of your stock block versus buying a crate motor. But there are some great deals on short blocks with really great parts/components.
 
I may trade the block I have in for one with a 4 Bolt bolt main setup. I don't like the idea of a 2 bolt main set up with the oncoming modifications in the planning stages.

Plus its OLD.

If Im going to do this much work I might as well replace the engine with new everything, that way theres no problems in the future. ESPECIALLY with performance tuning Ugh....

But Id like to keep the same set up engine wise. HEI 350 with the possibilty of aluminum heads. I most certainly want to keep the transmission...big bucks ouch I don't need anytime soon. So the Bell housing and clutch system can stay the same. Plus the ECM can stay the same just with a different PROM.

Basicly an in and out modification with a chip is the idea.
 
HEY I just saw the 2 bolt Vs 4 Bolt thread...

How much would it cost to have my block made into a 4 bolt straight or even a 4 bolt splayed??

GOTTA be cheaper than replacing!!

This way I can simply rebuild with a head change Hmmmm..

And do I have enough "meat" on the block to even bother with this procedure?
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom