TBI vs Vortec

[Schurkey]

304, 345 and 392 were all durable. For the longest I have wanted to adapt a 4L80E behind a 392 in a late 60s TravelAll and put TBI on it.

The 304 IH is a low-deck version of the block, along with the 266(?). No power.

The 392 makes reasonable power, but the 345 would adapt easier to OEM fuel injection--anything that works on a 350 will work on a 345 if you can get it bolted on.

The 392 will need more "tuning" to get an OEM fuel injection system up 'n' running right.

In the 60's here in my neck of the woods IH trucks--both medium duty and light duty--were very popular. We had pair of 1966/67 two ton livestock/grain trucks with the (I think) 345's in them. They were indeed quite durable trucks. Parts for them, when you could find them, were breathtakingly expensive.

Yup. Less popular, less aftermarket support, fewer Treasure Yard vehicles to scavenge from.

The pistons are expensive for all those reasons, plus they have an iron insert cast into them for the top ring groove. The ring groove isn't going to wear out--but it makes the piston heavy and expensive.

 

[badco]

TBI guy here. Strength in simplicity, no plastic intake, no warping or cracked cylinder head issues to worry about and less stuff to fail. I'm not going to argue anything about the power or MPG or whatever. To me, my 300ftlbs is enough. I'm not winning any drag races but it's super easy to troubleshoot and work on myself. Plus I like the look of the old school air cleaner set up.

The simple part I agree but cracked heads only partially, I'm 20yrs at engine shop the #1 would be 882/993/624 old school head followed by the tbi heads. Pulled 4 sets to find one buildable one last time. The vortec will crack easy if you get it pretty hot and alot of time from seat to spark plug hole

 

[alpinecrick]

Every cracked Vortec head I've seen was also accompanied by a warped lower intake--clearly indicating the motor had been overheated.

An argument could possibly be made that the Vortec heads are more susceptible to cracking when overheated than other heads, but in the end it is less a design flaw, and more of an absence of maintenance or outright neglect....