Vortec 350 upgrade worth it?

[samikit]

I have a 90 c1500 single cab short bed with a good running original tbi 350. As everyone knows the tbi 350s really lack power but are durable. A buddy of mine has a vortec 350 with 80000 miles on it out of a 99 chevy van. It has a dual plane intake and 600 cfm edelbrock carb on there and runs great. My question is would it be worth the swap? If I do get it, should I put a lt4 hotcam in there and upgrade the springs or just leave it with the factory cam?

[speedygonzales]

If it has carb, at least one of the crappy designs has been eliminated. I do not recommend to play with a cam. It will already be way better than what you have.

[Tom]

Your engine is fine, just put vortec heads on it and you'll have about the same power. The LT4 cam is tiny and hardly worth the effort of swapping nor the price of buying unless your building a very specific combo.

[likaroc13]

I had a '93 C-1500 with the 350 TBI & several bolt on goodies. It could out run a stock Vortec. That said, it did cost a few dollars to get it to that point. I now have a '97 Tahoe with the 350 Vortec that's bone stock aside from a K&N filter. The power is noticeably better in stock form compared to my old TBI when it was stock. Forgot to mention, both had aftermarket exhaust as well. My TBI was still running very strong at almost 200k when I sold it. If you already have a good running one, I'd be hesitant to ditch it. Just depends on what your overall goal is I guess.

[BigBlocksRule]

I have a 350 Vortec with an LT4 cam in it that I built for my '97 Tahoe. You guys that recommend against this cam swap, bring your stockers on down, we'll race and then tow awhile and compare power and mileage. Those cams are available for $100, well worth the swap. It may be tiny, but the stocker is miniscule.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

You guys that recommend against this cam swap, bring your stockers on down, we'll race and then tow awhile and compare power and mileage.

Quite the "bro" response. Nobody said the LT4 cam wouldn't be better, just not worth the effort. Any comparable aftermarket roller cam will make more power, and they are also cheap on ebay. And on your bro call out, I get 22mpg while doing 85mph with almost 1000lbs of motorcycles and race gear in the bed. Good luck improving that.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Tom

I get 22mpg while doing 85mph with almost 1000lbs of motorcycles and race gear in the bed.

Okay, I gotta ask. What's the trick? My '97 Tahoe (2dr/2wd) won't do that with an empty load.

[BigBlocksRule]

Originally Posted by Tom

And on your bro call out, I get 22mpg while doing 85mph with almost 1000lbs of motorcycles and race gear in the bed. Good luck improving that.

I don't know where your "bro" comes from, but I call absolute bull$hit on 22mpg EMPTY with anything in your signature, much less loaded and at 85mph unless it's downhill all the way with a 40mph tailwind. I dunno, maybe it's the "sterio"...

The LT4 cam is readily available, increases power and mileage and doesn't require a re-tune. I'd call that worth it.

[Tom]

I've tested this many times now. Everything's gotta be flat as can be, and no stopping for gas or whatnot along the way. I'd assume the lowering [less underbody turbulence] mild intake and exhaust, perhaps the fact I use resistor instead of platinum plugs, all add up.