New Member. 1987 K20 tbi swap to Carb Help??

[Cragar]

Greetings from Ontario Canada. Just picked up a 1987 GMC K 20 4x4. Going to start my restoration. Can't seem to find info on this topic?? I plan on rebuilding the 350 engine and would like to replace the current tbi with a Carb set up. Desired HP will be 350 to 375. Am I wise to go to Carb vs tbi? I'm kinda old school. When this truck came for sale I wasn't thrilled that it was a 1987 because I knew it was tbi.
Can someone please let me know if I should work with the tbi or swap it out for a 4v Carb? I will try and post pic's shortly
Thank you and have a wonderful day.

 

[RangRayy]

I just got down swapping my '87 over to carb. It will be easier to deal with than trying to get your ECM tuned and flashed for the upgrades you do to get the HP, not that it is impossible to do, just less headache. There are people out there that can send you a new chip to accommodate a new cam install or you can get the software and do it yourself.

I opted to switch to carb because I dislike all the wires and crap from the factory. You could get a self tuning EFI system but they're big bucks!!

If you need any help with the swap let me know, its pretty straight forward and easy.

 

[Cragar]

Whoops. Story of my life. I saw the thread for TBi conversions after I posted. I'm researching it now. If anybody has any insight, please feel free to reply.
Cragar.

 

[Georgeb]

Welcome to the forum. That whole TBI to carb thing is a can of worms. My opinion is carb but thats because I am also old school. There are things that I liked about the TBI as well. You will want to decide this by the time
You do the engine work because it will determine your head, intake and cam selection. If you go the carb route you will have plenty of extra wiring to deal with as well. hope this provides some point to consider.

 

[Cragar]

Thank you for your reply. I'm gathering information to do the swap over. Btw, enjoyed your resto on your 87. Nice job.

 

[RangRayy]

If you go the carb route you will have plenty of extra wiring to deal with as well. hope this provides some point to consider.

extra wiring that can be deleted to give a cleaner look. only 4 wires needed from the original harness to unless you decide to keep the in tank fuel pumps but I wouldn't re use them. If you're restoring it you'll probably be dropping the tank(s) and replacing all that so why not put an external pump on.

 

[RangRayy]

Thank you for your reply. I'm gathering information to do the swap over. Btw, enjoyed your resto on your 87. Nice job. ��

thank you sir! its a slow process but getting there.
its easy, if you're keeping the stock TBI heads all you need is an intake, carb and some headers. p/n2104 for the intake and p/n2453 for headers and whatever carb you want.

 

[Georgeb]

extra wiring that can be deleted to give a cleaner look. only 4 wires needed from the original harness to unless you decide to keep the in tank fuel pumps but I wouldn't re use them. If you're restoring it you'll probably be dropping the tank(s) and replacing all that so why not put an external pump on.

Yup, thats what I meant. Jus remove the unneeded wiring.