89 TBI 350 in my 66....? also some parts swap questions....

[hewlett2002000]

ok guys i can acquire a 89 chevy 1500 with a 350/700r4 for pretty cheap. what do yall think about putting that TBI 350 in my truck? the tranny in this truck has no reverse so i was thinking of bolting a th350 i have here up to it. would i have any problems there? also would the power steering box bolt to my frame with the regular adapter plate? would the brake booster and master bolt up? the engine it self runs strong and only needs a TPS sensor(i think, it dies when you stop, but starts right back up). i know ill need a electric fuel pump for the TBI setup, but i was thinking of trying to rig the tank from the 89 on there. anything else that would be needed please let me know.
thanks,
John

[joe231]

power steering won't work without major mods, the '89 box is on the inside of the frame rail. Probably take some moddin' to use the booster also, wouldn't be a bolt on.

[greg64]

I think the TBI 350 is a great swap idea. Nice simple fuel injection on that setup. The TH350 will bolt up, but you'll need to rig the kick-down cable to work with the throttle linkage on the TBI. This is different then the TV cable that would be on there right now. You'll also need a vacuum line to the tranny, but that's no big deal.

As for the stalling, it could also be the IAC idle air control motor, or possibly EGR bypassing at idle.

About the electric fuel pump, you could adapt the tank, or you could do what I did and mount an external fuel injection pump on the frame rail (so that fuel can gravity feed the pump), then plumb to the TBI and run a return line back to the tank (I tapped in to the vent hose at the tank).

Oh, and don't ignore the oxygen sensor. Without it, the ECU will run the engine in "limp home mode", which will run extra rich and use a lot of extra fuel.

[billydonn]

If you are truly "high-tech" you will enjoy doing the swap and benefit a lot from it. The TBI isn't that much simpler than a multi-port installation because you must use all the same sensors for it. Get the overdrive tranny fixed IMO... these systems are designed to work together. Do not cut corners on the fuel supply/return... you will be really lucky if the tank can be swapped.

Do your homework before beginning ... plan ahead... there will be costs.

www.thirdgen.org (TBI forum)
www.chevythunder.com
http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/praisetbi.html

[hewlett2002000]

do you know where i can fins some wiring diagrams for the 89? i would like to see what all is involved, and what all i can cut from the harness. i knew i would have to swap the sensors. i tried to find another thread with somebody doing a similar swap but with no luck. i know ive seen a few but short of going through each one on here i cant find it. any help is appreciated.
thanks,
John

[suicide 63]

heres some good links


http://www.binderbulletin.org/forums...ad.php?t=45293
http://www.persh.org/pickup/tbi-1.htm
http://www.bustedjeep.com/projects/junkyardtbi.asp
http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/GMTBISwap.htm

[joe231]

what part of texas are you in? does your '89 donor have air conditioning? if you get it, do you wanna sell me every thing for air? does it have power windows and locks? if so want to sell the doors? also need a front and rear bumper, would take the bad tranny too if you don't use it. maybe i could help you recoup some of the cost to buy it.

[billydonn]

Suicide 63 has given you some very good stuff there. Basically the efi wiring system stands alone from the rest of your wiring... you are just adding a harness and don't have to mess with what you have- aside from power connections and grounds. You will want to dump most of the emissions, which will simplify things.

[BlueJeep]

Pull off the split loom and see where the wires go. It's really basic, the orange wires are hot all the time and the pink ones are hot with the ignition. The wiring harness goes two directions off the engine, toward the driver's side to the bulkhead connector (these are where you'll splice in to your existing truck harness), and off to the passenger side where it goes in to the computer. Inside the truck there is a connector that heads under the dash, that is for things such as the check engine light, the a/c controls, the ALDL connector, and the electric speedo. If you leave the EGR on you won't have to have a custom chip burned, but you might want to to maximize the potential. Overall a really basic swap. There are a lot of online resources, just search for pinouts for a GM 7747 ECM (those are the last 4 digits of the ECM part #).

[hewlett2002000]

what all can be eliminated as far as emissions equipment?

[BlueJeep]

On the ones I've done, I've left the EGR and not done the cat. Different people have different opinions on the EGR, I just leave it on so I don't have to any custom chip work. All my engines have come from Iowa, where we don't have any smog regulations...a California engine is likely a different story.

[Captainfab]

If you go with the TH350 instead of the 700R4, you're going to need to install a device (can't think of what they're called....it's late) onto the speedo that will generate a VSS (vehicle speed sensor) signal for the ECM to read. It will run without it, but it will cause issues without the VSS. I've been through it on my '90 DD.

Regarding wiring diagrams, I bought a book at Napa that had engine wiring diagrams for cars and trucks...IIRC it is all GM too....was about $40 though

[BlueJeep]

I eliminated the speed sensor from my setup, but I do get an error code telling me "no signal from speed sensor". A new chip could be burned to fix this.