willis8895

I have recently stroked a 1997 trans am to a 383. I have had nothing but
problems from the electrical systems and was looking into carburating it also I
have totaled the costs up and it would be cheaper to carburate it in the end.
For the fact that i in the future i want it to be in the 1000 hp range. So if I
keep the EFI I will have too tune it every other day which costs more money
in the end. I know that GM Performance Parts make an intake for it also I
know that you can put the HEI distributor in itand it will run off the cam.

My biggest questions were would i still need my computer and if so for what?

monster81

no u wont need ur PCM,,,,BTW have u thought which transmision ur going to use with ur convertion, u know ur 4L60E will not work without ur PCM !

willis8895

That is one of the things i was thinking about also is there away to keep a few things electronic wise so that the transmission will work?

myltwon

iTrader: (1)

I believe they do make stand alone pcm controllers but those aren't exactly cheap, you could also do a manual valve body 4L60/700R4 so you can retain OD

somlt1

iTrader: (1)

im in the middle of the same thing you are, and they do make a stand alone controller for the 4l60e but if your looking to make that much power then you should look into a th400 or a glide. On my car when i take the jump im ditching the lt1 all together and going old sbc just alot easier no more dancing around the opti and computer hassles

willis8895

well yea the main thing i am tryin to do is kinda figure out the cost which way would be cheaper. So any advice would help if someone has done this and has a list of what they did or how much it cost would help a lot.
The main expense with EFI is that tuning it will cost a lot but a carb i would have no worries and just less of a headache cause if i want to put a big cam in there it has nothing really limiting it like i wanted to go with a bigger cam but did not have the money to get it programed so had to go smaller.

monster81

the conversion itself will coast u much more than just rebuilding ur EFI with few mods, remember that u will have to get a new intake manifold, carburator, distributor, plug wires, timing chain plug plate, air filter(to fit ur carb), wiring harness, etc...
but maybe in the long run it will cost u less to maintain it as u add mods i belive,,,
btw here s the controler u will require for ur trans.

http://www.jegs.com/p/TCI/951233/10002/-1

somlt1

iTrader: (1)

much agreed with mosnter81 if you go carb it will cost you more money for the switch than just getting the motor built and using the same efi components but when it comes to tuning it seems that is what you are worried about and a carb car the tuning is easier jets and a screw driver. tuning and dyno time are very expensive especialy on a car that you are planning 1000hp you have to look up every thing on both ends and see wat will work for you for me carb makes more sense but i run a n2o car you my want a turbo or super charger then an efi would be better for tuning cuz blow through carbs tent to suck

willis8895

yea i am kinda in big delima about the whole thing and are trying to figure it out my dad wants me too keep it around the same power and just build a drag car soon so if we go that route i think i will keep the EFI.

YSILT1

iTrader: (6)

You will never make more than 450 flywheel HP with that junk GM dual plain intake they sell. There is nothing wrong with running EFI. I have seen several LT!'s that run over 750RWHP and still get 30 mpg's on the highway and we never touch them.

My Impala SS makes 700 RWHP and I have not touched it in over 2 years since RMCR finished for me. Also my 96 TA that should be 825 RWHP still gets 26 MPGs and is more reliable now then it was stock.

Just a thought I would stick with EFI.

willis8895

well my biggest problem would be money carburating it was more goin to be a temp fix if it was cheaper so that i can save some money for a few years get everything i want done to it then put the EFI back on and have it tuned just once but this will be years done the road. As of right now just looking for a great street car that does not give me a million problems and throw 15 codes then takes a month to find out whats wrong. A carb much simpler its normally one thing or the other and is easy to narrow down the problems.

draggin97s10

iTrader: (2)

distributor clearence issues.? iwanna do a 86 or newer small block swap. will i need to keep computer for speedo? its a m6