TBI or EFI options

[UtOBS]

So the story is, I’m planning on building a 383 stroker. I have a regular cab short bed k1500 1990 with TBI 350 and 5 speed manual. Planning on swapping to a nv4500 so my tranny will hold up.

Going carbureted is out of the question so what are my options for a reliable TBI or EFI setup.

I’m planning on doing a 383 stroker, AFR heads, a mild cam, some sort of intake setup (not sure what yet), and long tube headers into true duals with magnaflow mufflers.

Iv looked into Holley sniper but there is so many people saying how finicky and unreliable they are. It will be semi daily driven so reliability is a must. Is there any super reliable EFI systems out there you recommend? Or any way to upgrade my stock TBI to feed that much flow and pony’s? Any help would be great. Thanks, Korbin.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Or any way to upgrade my stock TBI to feed that much flow and pony’s? Any help would be great. Thanks, Korbin.

Well, I'm running a bored 46mm TB (you may wanna go up to a 50mm 454 TB) with a 20LB spring. The operating system is the EBL Flash-II. Right now I'm taking it up to ~5800 RPM on my Blue Print short block, with the cam I mentioned above, and 10.3:1 compression. It still has plenty of low end torque with ~2500 stall converter.

 

[Drunkcanuk]

There is the Edelbrock systems. They are a bit more pricey than the Sniper.....at first. You have to buy extra bits and bobbles with the Holley and by the time you are done, it's the same as the superior (as per other forums) Edelbrock. The Sniper is still a TBI, where as the Edelbrock is a multipoint system.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I am likely doing the Power Tour this year with a Proflow 4 system. Have some more work left to do before June but that is my intent.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Iv looked into Holley sniper but there is so many people saying how finicky and unreliable they are. It will be semi daily driven so reliability is a must. Is there any super reliable EFI systems out there you recommend?

I'd bet that most of the problems being reported with Holley systems are caused by poor installation. That said, the other half is probably legit problems with Holley's cheap bits. My Sniper's TPS lasted about a month. It's the same as the later TBI sensor and I had one on in my parts stash. The O2 sensor is the wideband sensor from a Dodge truck. I had to replace that, too. Finally, the throttle plates were sticking. I had to pull the screws, re-loctite them, and then re-center the throttle plates.

The only show-stopper was the TPS. It drove fine with a bad O2 sensor. It got me home with the sticky throttle.

They are a bit more pricey than the Sniper.....at first. You have to buy extra bits and bobbles with the Holley and by the time you are done, it's the same as the superior (as per other forums) Edelbrock.

Holley simply kills you with all the stupid bits they leave out and then nickel and dime you to death with. You MUST have the throttle arm extension, and it's a 10 cent piece of metal with three holes. It should have been included with the kit, but Holley wants you to pay $10 after the fact.

 

[UtOBS]

Well, I'm running a bored 46mm TB (you may wanna go up to a 50mm 454 TB) with a 20LB spring. The operating system is the EBL Flash-II. Right now I'm taking it up to ~5800 RPM on my Blue Print short block, with the cam I mentioned above, and 10.3:1 compression. It still has plenty of low end torque with ~2500 stall converter.

Thanks, I’d love to know more about your build. I’m trying to keep the fuel system almost all GM parts to keep it reliable and easy to fix. And keeping Cruze control is nice.

How much HP are you making, mods, ect?

Seems like a 50mm throttle body and the supporting mods seem like a good way to go.

Besides the 383 is not a high revving setup. Shouldn’t be crazy hard to feed.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Thanks, I’d love to know more about your build. I’m trying to keep the fuel system almost all GM parts to keep it reliable and easy to fix. And keeping Cruze control is nice.

How much HP are you making, mods, ect?

Seems like a 50mm throttle body and the supporting mods seem like a good way to go.

Besides the 383 is not a high revving setup. Shouldn’t be crazy hard to feed.

If it is not a high reving setup 46mm works just fine. I built a 406 and used a 46mm TBI and 46mm bore 3704 manifold on it. It was 9.5:1 compression with 810 swirl ports, Crane Energizer 260 cam, stock 2.25" outlet log manifolds. It made about 330 hp and 450 ft/lbs. Was not hard to fuel although at that point I had yet to venture into running fuel pressure into the 20s and even 30s with TBI, so it had 80# older style 454 injectors at 13 psi.

 

[Komet]

Lots of cool EFI manifolds out there for the SBC, some are still manufactured. If I were to do something like that, I'd probably put a TPI setup on it with some budget junk ECM. But I'm an idiot, so you should probably go for a nice dual plane style intake that can fit 8 regular size fuel injectors and a Holley ECM. Medium to long runner length would be ideal for a low revving mild cam 383.

Super reliable and TBI with ECM integrated into one unit in the engine bay don't go together to me. I want my ECM away from the violence of internal combustion. They do make some that have the ECM separate, but then why do TBI if you don't already have the intake manifold?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

used a 46mm TBI and 46mm bore 3704 manifold on it

I used pretty much the same setup TB and 3704 intake but, bored the intake to 48 mm. If you go to the 50mm, you'll wanna bore the manifold to 50mm. Any machine shop can do it but, they have to be careful because it's an interrupted cut so, you have to go slow.

Energizer 260 cam, stock 2.25" outlet log manifolds. It made about 330 hp and 450 ft/lbs. Was not hard to fuel although at that point I had yet to venture into running fuel pressure into the 20s and even 30s with TBI, so it had 80# older style 454 injectors at 13 psi.

^^^This too but, I have the Blue Print short block with the discontinued Summit Racing heads (made by Trick Flow).

Here's their block putting out 436 HP Dyno tested with their heads and a 750 CFM carb on top. My heads are 170cc runners with 62cc chamber so, I'm getting 10.3:1 compression, from their calculations. I figure I'm giving up some HP up top but gaining Torque on the bottom.

GM SB Compatible 383 c.i. Engine - 436 HP - Short Block Plus

Description: HP & Torque: 436 HP / 443 FT LBS Compression Ratio: 10.0:1 Hypereutectic Pistons Cast Steel Crank Block: 4 Bolt main 4.00" bore Passenger side dipstick Align honed main bearing bore Cylinders honed on computer controlled machine to within .0002 straightness and roundness Cylinders...

blueprintengines.com

FYI, here's an article from Motor Trend and what the did to the HT383 to get 500Foot/LBS torque (thanks to @L31MaxExpress for posting this) they used the same profile cam that's in the Blue Print short block.

GM HT383 Crate Small-Block - Engine Build - Hot Rod Magazine

Tuning GM's HT383 Crate Small-Block for 500lb-ft of torque is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Find all the details inside Hot Rod Magazine.

www.motortrend.com

Here's their long block for a little over your budget...

GM HT383 Crate Small-Block - Engine Build - Hot Rod Magazine

Tuning GM's HT383 Crate Small-Block for 500lb-ft of torque is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Find all the details inside Hot Rod Magazine.

www.motortrend.com

Somewhere they show a Dyno run but, I can't find it. Here's a graph, note the nice flat torque on it. Happy hunting

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[WV_Dave]

Since you don't need a transmission controller, something like this FiTech system would work well and not break the bank.

Fitech kit