Hello From the UK

Hi all,

I am a bit of a truck enthusiast over here in the UK, i love older retro style trucks and in my time have owned a Chevy Cheyenne 1993, 6.2 nasp diesel. Which really gave me a bug for american cars. Sadly i sold it and bought a ford f250 2010, couldn't get on with that so have just bought a 1988 Silverado Stepside, which was imported from Arkansus in 2014 and has had a lot of pennys spent on it






Anyhow, I am trying to work the spec out of her engine as shes got a Camaro Z28 350 TPI fuel injection system, K&N intake, mild cam, Magnaflow muffler and 4” front 2” rear suspension drop, she also apparently has z28 camaro heads.


I dont know a thing about 350 engines and there just seems to be so much choice, this one is smoking a bit which it has done since it was imported, (rings) so I am thinking about building a engine from scratch, cant get my head around the fuel injection system thats fitted and if its good or bad, also if fitting the earlier engine (two piece? rear seal) would cause any problems

Anyhow looking forward to reading up on here

Cheers
Ross

Welcome to the site. From the engine pic you have posted this looks to be either a Camaro/Firebird TPI 5.7L V8 with the truck accessory brackets on the front or a Truck 5.7L with the Camaro/Firebird Tuned Port injection installed.

The TPI setup could be a decent truck system, due to its relatively low rpm peak and long runners (torque) in a heavier vehicle. I see a Trans dipstick (and no clutch master cylinder), so I'm assuming automatic. This with decent gears would probably be a decent running truck.

I see you are concerned about the smoke, but is it using oil? is it blueish smoke, whiteish smoke, or even blackish smoke? There are many things that could cause smoke, but not all require an engine rebuild. IMHO the one piece rear main seal is a better choice for a rebuild, due to the better sealing characteristics of all the updates in the engine. There is also the Vortec 5.7, which uses a similar shortblock, but better flowing heads and the Vortec 5.7L incorporates a Roller Lifter camshaft whereas the TPI uses a flat tappet camshaft. There are retrofits to update the older small block to a roller camshaft, but usually kind of pricey. I believer there was a TPI lower intake for Vortec heads at one point too.

I'd do a compression test before tearing anything apart. This will give you an indication if there is anything major wrong with the bottom end. What kind of oil pressure does it have? if it has decent oil pressure and decent compression, then you can probably leave it in the truck and figure out where the smoke is coming from.

Does the ALDL connector appear to be working? Does the CEL (Check Engine Light) work properly? You should be able to use a paperclip to test the ECM and see if all systems are good. IIRC the #1 & #2 pins need shorted when turning the key on. This is going from memory (last early GM I had was many years ago that still had original ECM), so I would do a little research to see how to diagnose the early TPI. A great resource is Brian Harris at www.TPIchips.com He knows these early GM EFI systems pretty well and can burn chips for different tuning. You could also keep the TPI manifod and update to the newer 0411 PCM but would need to build a harness to do so, as well as add the capability for cam/crank sensor. You could even run an aftermarket EFI electronics (holley, F.A.S.T, etc).

An LSx would fit really nice in there as well and make alot more power. Your options are pretty limitless in this case.

Thanks very much for your very informative reply, I dont have the car yet it arrives Wednesday. I am told she burns about half a litre of oil in around 200 miles (blue)

yes automatic

700R4 transmission rebuilt using Red Eagle High Performance Transmission Kit
New 2200 stall Heavy Duty torque convertor

If i wanted to rebuild the engine with a few trick bits, would the TPI cope?

Welcome Aboard!! Looks like a nice solid step side. Good luck with the engine issue.

Welcome to the forum, nice truck

Good looking truck I am guessing it will stand out in your country.

That's a great looking truck. Thanks for joining

Tony