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Chevy Truck problems

2K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  krypty 
#1 ·
I have a 90 model Chevy full size truck with a 350 TBI engine i believe..The problem is that the previous owner had dropped an e clip inside the intake that found its way between the seat and the intake valve, anyways the head is junk...

Not wanting to spend alot of money on this, I have some options..

Find a new head for the 350...

Use a set of pre 87 heads on it, (I have these..) but i know the intake will not fit these heads.. These heads are 84 305 heads I had ported some time ago and have readily..

Does someone make a TBI intake for these heads? or can I drill the center four intake bolts and make it work? or just convert it to carb witch I have everything to do..Basically I have no budget for this.. So i will likely have to use what I have.

I dont know if the pre 87 heads have all the acc bolt holes for the brackets any and all info on this project would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks,
 
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#2 ·
This is a driver truck it should have been fine. A little clip took out the head? Come on, how big was it? Ever take a salvage car and throw pennies into the intake? Drowning it with water will bend the rods.

I have dropped washers nuts screws into the engine. Did nothing but maybe increase the compression ratio by taking up space.

Not a common practice of mine.
 
#3 ·
spinn said:
This is a driver truck it should have been fine. A little clip took out the head? Come on, how big was it? Ever take a salvage car and throw pennies into the intake? Drowning it with water will bend the rods.

I have dropped washers nuts screws into the engine. Did nothing but maybe increase the compression ratio by taking up space.

Not a common practice of mine.
I actually tore down an engine for a refresh and found a needle from a carb was embedded in the top of one piston. Not sure where it came from but the engine still ran good, just used a little oil.
 
#4 ·
I'd go with option 1.

There's gotta be thousands of used cyl heads for 350 TBI in the wrecking yards, which nobody really wants ...

According to the laws of supply and demand ... I'm thinking the yards would love to sell you a hand-picked one of your choice for about $25.00.
 
#5 ·
yea the e-clip was stuck between the valve and the seat.....clearly visible when the head was removed. as far as heads are a dime a dozen...why dont u find two heads 25$ each and ill happily buy them from you, and hey Ill even pay shipping+ an extra 5$ a head just for your trouble :rolleyes:
 
#6 ·
S10 Racer said:
I actually tore down an engine for a refresh and found a needle from a carb was embedded in the top of one piston. Not sure where it came from but the engine still ran good, just used a little oil.
hehe yea well this one in particular ran just fine except the steady flow of water out of the exhaust.

Im not here to judge one way or the other, I bought the truck from a family member, been sitting for awhile and he needed the money, I dont really care about what is exactly RIGHT as long as it will work and I can get it to run i dont care if I put 305 heads on it or convert it to carb its just going to be something to haul mulch errr w.e else I might need so in a word...BEATER so does anyone really know what will or will not work or am i wasting my time here?
 
#7 ·
I have seen adapters advertised that are used to convert a non-TBI engine so you can you the 2 barrel GM throttle body. I've never seen one installed, but its a fairly common conversion. I think you could install a stock GM intake on the old heads and just use the adapter like this. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-2211/

I've also seen several folks suggest that you can redrill the center holes in the intake, but its usually the opposite of what you need (they usually want to put an old intake on newer heads).

Bruce
 
#8 ·
krypty said:
...
as far as heads are a dime a dozen...why dont u find two heads 25$ each and ill happily buy them from you, and hey Ill even pay shipping+ an extra 5$ a head just for your trouble :rolleyes:
I think I may have detected a little unfounded sarcasm in your reply ... :mwink:
Pick - N - Pull price list

306-4 Head - Cast Iron W/O Cam Car $34.99 $4.99
OK $34.99 ... not $25.00 ... so I'll waive my "finder's fees". :D

Seriously ... SB Chevy TBI heads are "doorstop" or perhaps "wheel chock" material here.
 
#10 ·
krypty said:
I have a 90 model Chevy full size truck with a 350 TBI engine i believe..The problem is that the previous owner had dropped an e clip inside the intake that found its way between the seat and the intake valve, anyways the head is junk...

Not wanting to spend alot of money on this, I have some options..

Find a new head for the 350...

Use a set of pre 87 heads on it, (I have these..) but i know the intake will not fit these heads.. These heads are 84 305 heads I had ported some time ago and have readily..

Does someone make a TBI intake for these heads? or can I drill the center four intake bolts and make it work? or just convert it to carb witch I have everything to do..Basically I have no budget for this.. So i will likely have to use what I have.

I dont know if the pre 87 heads have all the acc bolt holes for the brackets any and all info on this project would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks,
I have a pair of TBI heads from a '92 350. PM me if interested.
 
#12 ·
If your just looking to get it running again, pick one up from a recycler or look on craigslist.

If your looking to get more performance, pick up a set of votec heads. They will bolt right on, but you will need to get a new intake to match the vortec heads and your EGR will no longer work. I'm told they add ~50 hp by themselves. I can't attest to that, but I can tell you I picked up a whole lot of power between them, a new cam, and bigger injectors.

Here's a link with all types of performace tips for that truck / engine.

http://tbichips.com/truckmods.htm

Good luck!
 
#13 ·
CrankyCrankPot said:
If your just looking to get it running again, pick one up from a recycler or look on craigslist.

If your looking to get more performance, pick up a set of votec heads. They will bolt right on, but you will need to get a new intake to match the vortec heads and your EGR will no longer work. I'm told they add ~50 hp by themselves. I can't attest to that, but I can tell you I picked up a whole lot of power between them, a new cam, and bigger injectors.

Here's a link with all types of performace tips for that truck / engine.

http://tbichips.com/truckmods.htm

Good luck!

thank you for all the info/help with this project....

The truck is a 4x4 short wheel base 5 speed, i dunno the gear ratio but i should have it running by the weekend, I just need gaskets...

as far as performance is concerned, im not really worried about it, if i had time Id port the 193 castings to see if Id gain much, but it looks like the cam in these motor's are a real problem concerning performance soooo I might add a cam and a set of ported heads/larger injectors/chip later

I speacialize in small block/bigblock chevy castings as far a port work is concerned so i might take it upon myself to see what these casting are capable of... I mean i never thought the BBC oval port heads could support a 6500 rpm 496 but after extensive portwork they work great ^^ and yes they had too the person/customer was my dad >.<
 
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