New car and want info

[1990Bird]

I just got a 1990 Firebird, auto,5.0,convertible and want to know what its stats are stock and what i can do to it to make it better, like drop ing in a 5-speed, or a better engine, or maybe just some info on little mods that will help

[markd79ta]

I just got a 1990 Firebird, auto,5.0,convertible and want to know what its stats are stock and what i can do to it to make it better, like drop ing in a 5-speed, or a better engine, or maybe just some info on little mods that will help

Is it Tuned Port Injected (TPI) or Throttle Body Injected (TBI)

[1990Bird]

I am pretty sure its TPI

[1990Bird]

ANy info that can be issused will be much appreciated

[Benm109]

The 1990 305 TPI motors were rated at 230 HP@4400 RPM and 300 TQ@3200 RPM. Not bad for a 305 .

It's kinda hard to answer a question like that. It really just all depends on what you want to do with the car. You have to ask yourself some questions, like: is the car a daily driver, do you want good gas mileage, what's your overall goal for the car (to want to drag race in it, autocross, drift, etc.?), are you willing to do engine and tranny swaps, do you have the time and/or money for engine and tranny swaps, etc., etc., etc.?

Just think about that and let us know basically what your overall goal is for the car. Then I think we can help you out. But, either way, check out www.thirdgen.org . It's dedicated to the 3rd Gen. (82-92) Camaros and Firebirds, and has tons of info available on that site. If we can't help you, they can.

[1990Bird]

I want a quick street car that wont get burn by any little ricer, yet i can have fun taking to work and have peoples heads turning saying, "That was SWEET!" I have plenty of time for swaps and have the know how, I just need some good referances.

[Benm109]

But, as for little mods, there are some decent cheap mods you can do to the TPI motors. The first is the "throttle body coolant bypass", which you can learn how to do from the Thirdgen.org Technical Articles. Some cheap mods include an air foil, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and a CAI (cold air intake). You can find most of these things in the TPI/LT1/LS1 section in the Summit Racing or Jegs catalogs and/or website.

There are some other mods that aren't really cheap, but will definitely improve performance. First thing is the exhaust, all of it needs to be replaced. Find some decent shorty headers with a y-pipe (the Hooker 2055s, for example), a nice 3" high-flow catalytic converter, and a single 3" cat-back exhaust system. Another really good modification is changing the rear gears. 3.42s seem to be an excellent choice for the TPI motors.

Sorry I'm not of more help, but I'm more of a TBI guy myself.

[Benm109]

I want a quick street car that wont get burn by any little ricer, yet i can have fun taking to work and have peoples heads turning saying, "That was SWEET!" I have plenty of time for swaps and have the know how, I just need some good referances.

Well, in that case, first thing to do is probably ditch the 305. I hate to say it, but the 305 is just not good for a serious motor build-up. Time and time again people build up 305 just to be poor and not nearly as fast as the guy who got a 350 and modded it for less money.

So with that said, I would stick with at least a 350 SBC. Parts are endless for them. You can pretty much do anything you want with them. But, this is pretty much where my expertise ends, because I really haven't got to mess around with high performance motors (yet!).


But, before I go any further, you have one more question to ask yourself. Do you want the motor to be carbureted of fuel injected? That's also going to decide a lot. You've got plenty of pros and cons with either choice, it's just up to what you want, again. You can get a carburetor to support pretty much any motor you can throw at it, and they are not really difficult to fine tune, but sometimes they're hard to start on cold mornings, etc. But, with fuel injection, you get the gas mileage, and usually better starting and idling, but FI is usually difficult, or expensive, to tune.