Thanks for all the input. I'm not against carburetors I just think polished TPI units are nice looking. The car is nothing but a cruiser and doesn't see 3500 rpm unless I decide to beat on it a little which isn't very often. The thing cruises down the highway turning 1900 rpm at 70 mph all day. I thought about an LS but don't think it would look very nice, exposed as it is, in my Model A.
The stock TPI with the runners polished (and the finish on them is close, it's not much work like polishing cast aluminum pieces) with the plenum painted, matching valve covers... is one of the best looking combinations out there.
Not that I see why people keep bringing it up, but the LS engines are just ugly, and there isn't really much that fixes it till you get into the big $$$ aftermarket intakes and mess with relocating the coils. I can't imagine anyone actually wanting on in a 'rod.
One consideration is that if momma decides she wants to take it to the store the thing needs to start and run reliably without tinkering with it. Seems the comments are pretty much 50/50 with mostly the performance guys against the TPI.
99% of mommas like TPI better than a carb
;-)
and I'm a performance guy that knows my way around both, and in most cases I'll choose TPI (and in almost ALL cases I'll choose some flavor of injection) over a carb.
Beware of the factory oem harness its probably long since past its prime. A total rewire if it hasent been done would be in order.
You know, Ive owned a few 80's/90's GM vehicles (2 TPI's) and worked on a lot, and I've never seen one with a messed up harness/problems with the plugs unless _someone_ messed them up. Similar vintage ford stuff can be a disaster.
If your happy with the 190 hp to the wheels then its probably the option for you.
A nice 300 ftlbs is totally possible. But once you try to get some more power everything will be in your way and need to be replaced. So stock tpi or carb nothing makes the tpi work for performance.
factory ratings were up to 230hp (and that 230 would have been more like 300-350hp in the 60's). The differences were different cams and exhaust (there were other differences by year but they shouldn't affect power output). As long as it's not a "peanut cam" variant (there were some with auto transmissions in the later years that came with a dinky cam, if it's one of those I would recommend swapping the cam _no matter what_), adding headers, a good exhaust and intake/filter assembly will put that solidly in the 275-300hp range with ~350lb/ft torque. Lots of those cars as rods are pretty light, in the mid to high 2xxx# range, that's enough power to run a 12.0@114mph in the 1/4.
With a carefully chosen combination, the STOCK TPI parts flow enough to support 400hp (it's not as easy to do as just picking a random "3/4 race cam"... but they will do it), and that's a high 10@125 in the same car. Yea, you don't see it often but it can be done.
. As mentioned, flat cams till '87. then roller cams of various sizes in various years...
Roller in '87
they also switched from MAF to MAP EFI about '90... the TPI acts like it was designed more for a 305" than a 350"... HP peaks around 4500-5000 RPMs on a 305", but peaks about 4000-4500 on a 350"...
you'll get your fastest runs shifting a 350 at 4800-5000rpm, 305 from 5200-5500rpm (I have both in the driveway right now, and I run _everything_ at the dragstrip)
While the TPI 350" wasn't a revver, it did effortlessly push 'Vettes and F-bodies to 145-150 MPH... prolly about 5 MPH slower for the 305" version as HP wasn't much lower, just less lower RPMs torque...
When I was younger and stupider I got pulled over at 148mph in a very lightly modified 305 in a trans am, The cop actually showed me the reading on the radar gun in case I didn't believe him...