Vortec heads and TBI?

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Comparing a l31 vortec truck to a tbi... the tbi seems to be alot more torquey...
Vortec long block vs tbi long block... the vortec motor eats the tbi's lunch. Great off idle power and will pull till redline. Stock vortec heads are only good to 5000-5500rpms if i remember correctly. Way back when i did my swap i bought the 2nd or 3rd manifold they had sold from sdpc... the egr stuff at the time no one had really done and well we didnt have near the online reasources we do now.

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Schurkey

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When it was me, I used a pair of ancient Trick Flow heads I already owned along with a ZZ4-style intake manifold (both bought used on eBay.)

Vortec, or Trick Flow + ZZ manifold, either one requires substantial (but very different) mods to use the EGR.

The ZZ-style intake needed minor mods and cleverness to connect the heater quick-connect supply fitting, the vacuum tube for power brakes, an adapter plate to mount the throttle body, and mounting the ignition coil, etc.
 

98 Nitro

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Or just buy the engine quest heads that flow like vortecs but have the 87-95 intake pattern. They bolt right up and ate less crack prone.
 

Schurkey

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Or just buy the engine quest heads that flow like vortecs but have the 87-95 intake pattern. They bolt right up and ate less crack prone.
For the record...I have a pair of EQ heads (bare) plus a valve--spring--retainer--seal kit, rocker studs, and an intake gasket set. NEVER ASSEMBLED, never installed. Had 'em a long time, though.

I'm not going to be needing them any time soon.

Shipping will be high based on the weight...but I can make an otherwise great deal on the heads. PM for details.

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Vortec chamber

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6-bolt exhaust flange. Centerbolt valve covers.

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6-bolt (old style) intake flange
 
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retorq

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Hurry up! I need that chip yesterday. lol

Deleted the egr?

Sorry for the late response, yes the EGR was removed. Vortec had some tubes in the manifolds and all that. I already had a really nice set of tubular shorties on the truck.
 

retorq

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I really have to question 4000 RPM being the changeover point, because my tuned Vortec definitely runs a lot harder than my TBI did and it did so long before 4000 RPM. I will say off idle the TBI can't be beat, but long before 4000 Vortec will freight train the TBI. I'd argue, without data, that it's more in the mid 2000 range as the Vortecs, IMO, were held back more on a stock tune. My stock C1500 would bark tires long through 1st gear (3.42 truck) whereas my 1500 in sig in stock form would barely chirp a worn out right rear tire in stock form. Hit the on ramp and long before redline, buhbye TBI.

Yeah def not 4000, but I have a bunch of other mods in my truck so I can't say with 100% certainty.
 

DonF

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I just finished the vortec head, ramjet cam swap on my 1995 G30 TBI van in December. It made a huge difference when tuned with tunerpro. Only the heads (****** Jegs vortec heads, long story), the GMPP tbi manifold, a $40 Facebook buy with a hole in the side, and the small 196 degree ramjet cam and lifter conversion was done. The van had 106,000 but the short block was original 1995.

There are some differences in the way the runs were made on the dyno. At first I used the tacho adapter, but its made for a square wave signal and was not reliable in this application. Also when the converter would lock, that's why the three readings of the same rpm on the original pull. I think the end results are pretty good for a tow rig still strangled by stock exhaust manifolds and the tiny stock tbi. Exhaust is a custom 409 SS system I welded up with a big quiet 3" muffler and full tailpipe. No headers or oversize TB, both would have made more peak power, but I really was after grunt and mileage at 2000 to about 4000 to tow my dyno. The engine would pull very well on the hills after the work, it was the sucky 4l60e ratios that would be the downfall. 1-3 are way too far apart. I just rebuilt the trans so I sold the van and moved to the 1996 L29 4l80e C2500 I have now a few weeks ago. The vortec style head, bowl ported and the roller cam conversion gained a lot of torque everywhere for towing, even down low. The last runs where made with the tune locked in 3rd gear, locked converter and I used the roller tacho that ended up being about a 150 rpm off and off on MPH, so its not an apples to apples comparison, but its close! With the locked gear and converter, I can use the dyno brake to start the run much earlier to see if I lost any low end. It gained everywhere. Still not a hot rod, but very noticeable when the van and cargo trailer were close to 10000 lbs when driven across the scales.

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The 1994-95 $0D TBI computer works well with this combo when tuned. You would loose out on most if using the stock chip though and run dangerously lean in places. Totally different fuel curve than stock. The older pcm work but are not as advanced or as fast, it is a huge difference in computing speed. I think they have more problems just because they are so slow to react to changes. The swap to the better computer is very easy. You can get them on ebay for $20 or less and some shipping.
 

fuzzie12

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Chips are easy. Just tell someone what you’ve got and you just pull the ECU out from under the dash. Pull the old one out and the new one in. There’s an appreciable difference in usable torque between vortec and TBI. Go for it! [emoji16]
Nice write up, will def use this as a reference in the future.
where do u buy a new chip???? it dont have to be flashed?
 

DonF

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Look around Gearhead-efi and you will see aftermarket chips you buy from Summit or Jegs are laughed at. I did not believe it either so I purchased a Jet chip and compared to factory it is a joke, I posted the differences. I put it on my chassis dyno too. Its all black and white if you can read a chip, no voodo at all. Ha ha! Places like TBI Chips have a poor rep, many threads on the same forum of the owners shenanigans. It's up to you, but those who know do not recommend any of the popular sources. There is one moderator over there that will do remote tunes that has a fairly happy client base. Most buy chips from the popular places then they head over there and they ask why their truck runs so bad, but he makes you log your data to get the tune exactly right. Not really any way around that if you care about accuracy. If you want your tbi to run right, it's a learning curve but there are helpful people that can make it a lot easier.
 
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