irockin88

Ok im having problems with my tpi to carb swap. Im hearing about the carb has a choke and i dont know how that exactly works. aslo im running the th700r4 trans and herd on these forums that im going to have problems with the lock-up or goin into 4th gear. Another thing is im looking at carbs and its asking if i want secondary mechanical or electric and i dont know what that means either. the final thing is all the wireing in the engine bay, when i put the new motor in, what wires do i need to keep and what dont i. if anyone can help me id appreaciate it greatly

irocinblue89

iTrader: (2)

If it's electric choke just us a hot wire from your tpi harness. I just did the swap and really if you take your time it's not that difficult. You can get a throttle and tv cable bracket from holley just be sure to set your tv cable. Good luck and take your time. Here's mine:

irockin88

i dont understand why u are using a tv cable. if anyone else can add to what he said id appreaciate it

irockin88

i am goin crazy with this car lol anyone anything?

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

In case of any confusion, tv cable = throttle valve cable, it goes to your transmission. It needs to be adjusted properly, you'll know when you have that right because your transmission will shift at the proper RPM, in relation to throttle position, when compared to an f-body with a properly adjusted tv cable.

For the choke, if you get an electric choke, just run a hot wire to it, for a manual choke you can just run a cable to under your dash.
I don't use a choke, since I just get in my car and go, I never really thought I needed one.
The choke is just a valve above your primaries, used to help control A/F ratio when the engine is cold, to keep it running easier.
Make sure that gets set up right, or else you might notice really bad fuel efficiency.

irockin88

now what about this thing im hearing about the lock-up?

ibmtech

iTrader: (1)

I see all these people swapping to a carb setup. Is this because they don't know how to tune a TPI engine? It is relatively the same principle.

JTB91RS

The lock-up is for your torque converter. Typically, when cruising at highway speeds in 4th gear (overdrive), it will engage and lock up your torque converter such that the 2 fans inside (input and output) are spinning at the same rate to improve fuel efficiency.

I'm not sure if there is another way to hook this up in a carbed setup, but I commonly hear of people installing a switch to manually activate the lock-up, which would be a relatively quick and simple solution.

It may be possible to leave your TPI ECM hooked up to the trans and allow the computer to continue controlling the lockup (?), though I am not sure what sensors would have to remain hooked up to allow it to function properly.

irocinblue89

iTrader: (2)

I see all these people questioning those who have gone to carb. I can tune a tpi fine. I was just trying to do my part to stimulate the economy. So I decided to spend $4500 on a new 460 tq motor with a warranty instead of $6000 on a tpi build. I didn't have that much to spend. Just personal pref.