Here are the pics of my TBI setup. I haven’t put wire loom on yet I am leaving them unwrapped until I get a few more miles on it and get it in a heated shop. It has been below zero for about two weeks and working with wiring isn’t any fun when you can’t feel your fingers.
Was the project worth it? Definitely! I started this fall when my roommate’s father who owns a small scrap business was getting ready to crush some cars. He told us to come out and get what we wanted before it went on the “Iron Boat to China”. I pulled a complete 88 TBI setup off a 1/2ton 350 with a 1227747 computer. My initial intention was to put it on the 400sb in my 67, but that got pulled for a 72 Nova project. I put the rebuilt 305 back in the 67 and started the TBI swap.
The wiring took quite a bit of time. I am still not done with the wire loom but I have put on three hundred trouble free miles so far.
-EGR wiring is still in the harness in case I change to newer heads in the future.
-VSS is not connected(only needed if you have EGR)
-Cruise, AC and Air pump wiring removed
-P/N switch grounded
-Pulled all the instrument cluster wiring out(water temp, oil press, shift indicator, etc)
-Wired all the switched 12v sources through a 40amp relay(didn’t trust the 41 year old ign. switch to provide enough amperage without excessive voltage drop)
-Added extra ground straps to the engine.
The intake manifold center bolt holes had to be enlarged to fit on my 84 305 heads.
I tried to save money on the fuel pumps and it ended up costing me more money. I had a brand new in tank pump for a 2000 S10 in the garage and I mounted it inside that pipe reservoir on the fender. It is fed by a low pressure electric pump by the tank. I am not going to give more details so you aren’t tempted to try it.
I recommend doing a Blazer tank swap and use a TBI in tank pump, or get a Carter p5001 and mount it by your factory tank. It will save you the mess and hassle I have. I will change to a Blazer tank eventually, but I am a student with too much invested in this setup to change right now.
To plumb in the TBI I used:
-14mm o-ring to AN-6 power steering adapter for the return side
-16mm o-ring to AN-6 power steering adapter for the pressure side
Once you have them adapted to An-6 you can use any hose or barbed fitting you want.
I ran 3/8 inch hose in and out of the TBI
I used a new O2 sensor, knock sensor and CTS sensor.
Base timing to 6 degrees BTDC instead of zero because I don’t have new swirl port heads(I have crappy 601 heads).
The cammed 400sb with the Q-jet got an average of 9.1mpg. The 305 TBI just pulled down 14.3mpg going 60mph and 12.1mpg going 65mph.(All highway no warm up)
I usually drive 60 the 4.56 gears really make that small block scream.
THAT IS A 57% INCREASE IN FUEL MILEAGE!!!!!!!
I am definitely down on power from the 400, but this engine is so smooth with TBI. At this point in my life I am willing to sacrifice power for MPGs. I couldn’t afford to drive it at 9MPG now I can.
If I could only figure out how to save 57% on the $625 I spent on text books this semester.
THE WIRES ARE GETTING LOOM JUST NOT YET.
The Bad choice fuel delivery system
Here you can see my throttle rod adapter
The waterproof computer box
The victim
