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> Vortec head thermostat bypass, fuel, and tuning questions, TBI 350, vortec longblock swap
robz71lm7
post Jan 15 2011, 03:50 PM
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I'm helping my father out with a project on his truck. It's a '91 TBI 350 that to keep a long story short my sister borrowed it and ran the engine out of oil. Under my advice he bought a brand new GM '96-'00 350 Vortec longblock. We also bought the pricey GM aluminum TBI to vortec intake manifold. My father wants to keep EGR for whatever reason so we got the expensive intake.

Before someone asks the truck has a fresh pro-built 700R4 and he also doesn't want the headache of an LSX swap.

Thermostat
As I can see the vortecs have no bypass built-in and you either run a line from the front of the intake below the thermostat to the water pump or drill the thermostat. Is one preferred? Or would 3, 3/16" holes in the thermostat be good enough? Also where on the fuel pump do you tap in? The old fuel pump only has a plug on the back. Also can I get by with a TBI era water pump? I need a new water pump either way and the vortec pump has two nipples on it. Are they for the heater core and bypass? On the '91 the heater core goes straight to the radiator.


Tuning and Fuel
The truck will be stock in the immediate future with a cold air intake, high flow cat, thermostat, and catback being the only mods. We're using '96 exhaust manifolds to allow for EGR. We'll probably upgrade to a heated O2 sensor. Would a fresh fuel pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and stock tbi down to the injectors work for a 250 HP vortec 350?

I was planning on using TBIChips to burn a chip for the truck...any other recommendations?

Distributor
Is a new factory replacement style '91 distributor good for the factory vortec roller cam or does the gear need to be changed? He bought a Jeg's branded external coil complete HEI distributor.
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Pro.../40006/10002/-1


I'm trying to keep everything as simple as possible as reliability and ease of maintenance is the #1 concern. I went with the new vortec because I trust it more than the local rebuilds and the swirl port heads are dead after 2500 rpm's if that. The truck is used primarily to tow his boat.
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Posts in this topic
robz71lm7   Vortec head thermostat bypass, fuel, and tuning questions   Jan 15 2011, 03:50 PM
1meanZ   QUOTE (robz71lm7 @ Jan 15 2011, 10:50 AM)...   Jan 16 2011, 02:30 PM
robz71lm7   QUOTE (1meanZ @ Jan 16 2011, 09:30 AM) I ...   Jan 20 2011, 07:02 PM
1meanZ   make sure that the rotation of the TBI water pump ...   Jan 23 2011, 01:50 PM
pknowles   Rob, I just went out to look a my truck, there m...   Jan 17 2011, 07:26 PM

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