Both engines are absolute dogs in the grand scheme of things, but I’ve always found the TBI to be painfully gutless. Vortecs (when running properly) are much smoother and do wake up a bit under throttle. Reliability wise, the TBI is much better. Vortecs have the infamous injector issues, leaky intake gaskets, etc., as mentioned above.
The head castings are absolutely junk as well. I’d be willing to bet if you went to a scrap yard right now and checked out 10 Vortec cylinder heads, at least 8 would be cracked. I’ve never seen an 062 takeoff that didn’t have at least minor cracking. People drive these trucks around everyday with cracked heads and are none the wiser, until the fateful day that the exhaust pressure either blows a radiator hose off or coolant comes pouring out of your overflow tank.
