Will this work?

[4x4K10]

Found a 1987 350 vette engine on craigslist for a pretty good price. Im looking to put this into my 85 k10. I have the original 305/700r4 in it right now. What im wondering is can i drop the l98 in and mate it to my 700r4 and go or not? Also if i cant, what will i need in order to make this engine work in my truck? Ive searched the internet for this swap but all i have found is threads talking about how it would be better off going for an LSx swap, but i dont have the funds for an LS swap at the moment. Thanks for your help

[notallthere]

I may be wrong but since the 700R4 in the vette is not electronically controlled it should not be an issue for it to bolt up to your trucks transmission. Are you dumping in all of the fuel injection on the motor or switching it to carb?

[79Betty]

It'll Bolt in but pretty sure 87's have 1 piece rear seal n center bolt valve covers. If your reusing your intake it will be a bolt in swap. PRETTY sure you will have to get a new flexplate for the seal difference. I'd check at a parts store to see if they are the same part number or not.

[4x4K10]

If i were to get the engine i would most likely keep the fuel injection.

[JustTom]

If you're paying a premium for the "vette" engine, verify that it is.
Casting numbers, etc.

It seems a lot of 350's on CL claim to be "vette" engines, a common sales tool.

Tom

[nekkidhillbilly]

unless you getting if for like under 400 bucks its not the best choice. those 87 crossfire 350s suck. last thing id do is keep that efi setup. my advice would be what you dont want to hear get a 4.8 ls and 4l60e sell all your extra stuff. you can find them usually under a grand.

[ElGracho]

Originally Posted by nekkidhillbilly

unless you getting if for like under 400 bucks its not the best choice. those 87 crossfire 350s suck...

87 Corvette 350 engines are not crossfire injection. They are TPI.

[nekkidhillbilly]

yeah i forgot it was tpi in 86 or so. still not anything real desirable though 230 hp. unless it was for a steal i wouldnt go out of my way to get it. if over 400 bucks i wouldnt go for it.

[school boy]

if its a 87 tpi engine out of a corvette, it will have the l98 aluminum heads. The tpi Camaros had the l98 iron heads

[nekkidhillbilly]

yeah still 230 hp not much over a stock 350

[Jonboy]

Originally Posted by nekkidhillbilly

unless you getting if for like under 400 bucks its not the best choice. those 87 crossfire 350s suck. last thing id do is keep that efi setup. my advice would be what you dont want to hear get a 4.8 ls and 4l60e sell all your extra stuff. you can find them usually under a grand.

Some of that depends on who you ask. CFI isn't much different from the TBI found in our trucks, once you understand it. If you adapt it to run a 7747 ECM, it performs similarly to TBI. The main difference is that it has 2 throttle bodies with a single blade and injector each, where TBI has a single throttle body with 2 blades and 2 injectors. The reason they are so maligned is that the ECM was pretty primitive. When it works, it works pretty well.

Doing a TPI swap and an LS swap are really apples and oranges. Most of your accessories, mounts, and trans will work if you are doing the TPI swap. Not so much with the LS swap. While the LS swap will probably net you more power, one would have to look at their mechanical abilities and see if it is for them. I like the look of the TPI swap, but that is just me.