Tbi to vortec heads

[MDYLANP]

Is it really worth it for what my plans are? I'm not looking to get a cam that so aggressive I loose my brakes haha. The tbi can only handle about 5000 rpms right? I don't need a cam that makes all it's power in that range. Just something with a nice lope, and smooth gains throughout the curve. I'm not real concerned with idle quality or mpgs as this is just a weekend truck for hunting and having fun while my pavement princes stays clean.

 

[MDYLANP]

Should I just start looking for a complete donor engine then? Just a vortec motor and pull the parts I need? Or should I try to find them separately? Heads from here, roller parts there, and just collect till I have everything I need. I'm not in a rush so if it's worth the wait and money to find the parts then I'll just suck it up.

 

[TylerZ281500]

tbi lose all power at 4500 cranks break around 5-5500if you can find a whole vortec block id start there truthfully and rebuild it youll have a slightly stronger bottom end and good heads if the heads are still any good(some are prone to cracking) or try to find a different tbi block and build that one, i wouldnt go too crazy and just for a hunting truck i wouldnt be revving past 5+ much anyways i wouldnt think. a decent cam, set of heads, exhaust and cam as well as the free tbi mods will wake up a tbi truck of course youll want and should have a tune. cam lope and tbi arent all that favorable together, you have to try to stick to the 110-114 lsa if i recall mines at 112 my old cam was 110

as for what block you need to think of how youd like to build it first, roller or flat tappet? vortec heads or other? thats all up to you really

 

[MDYLANP]

I think I'm just going to get some decent vortec heads and freshen them up, vortec to carb intake and look for some roller parts and if I haven't found any for the right price by then, I'll just go flat tappet. Just play it by ear and save the cam for last. Once that's done, I'll get a tune and call it a day. It's not going to be a race truck but she is just horribly slow haha. 210 horsepower just ain't cutting it anymore. Trying to keep this simple and get the best bang for my buck haha.

 

[TylerZ281500]

figure out your cam first, you can use vortecs with both flat and roller thats no big deal but depending on cam your springs may not be compatible or you may need other work done

 

[skylark]

Just a word of caution on converting a tbi block to a roller. I personally have seen 2 tbi blocks that were not drilled and tapped for the spider or cam plate. One of those had the bosses but didn't have the intake valley machined where the dog bones sit.

 

[MDYLANP]

How do I know for sure I'm capable of a roller swap without tearing down the motor.

 

[MDYLANP]

But like I said, I'm keeping this simple, I'll just get whatever cam will work best with a stock set of vortec heads with minimal work.

 

[skylark]

How do I know for sure I'm capable of a roller swap without tearing down the motor.

You won't without pulling the intake.

 

[whyteboy97]

you start doing the swap yet. im going to put vortecs on mine. im thinking about going to carb though. buying new vortec heads were cheaper then rebuilding the tbi heads. i couldnt say no to more horses lol.