99mainebusa

Hey all, I am new to the page as well as soon to be new to corvette ownership. I am picking up a 1984 corvette on the 13th, I am not a fan of the crossfire injection and am looking to install my carburated 383sbc into it, is this a difficult conversion due to the electronic gauges in the car? Thanks in advance

5speedC4

I don't think you will have much problem with it.

Might have to cut a hole in the hood or find a low profile air cleaner.

I know I have seen some carb C4 vettes, and even though this board will tell you no, the owners seemed happy enough with them.

Iroc57

You will lose the MPG reading if you had it (not sure about your year), your "service engine" light will stay on, and if it is a 700R4 auto than you will need to figure out how you want to get the TC lock function to work. I use a switch but there are kits out there to make it an automatic function.
If the crossfire is working you may want to lurk around here for a while. There are quite a few options availablle but I have a carb myself so I am not biased here.

xrcrx

You'll need a vacuum advance style distributor. You'll need a TCI or similar control kit to control the TC's lock up function. Intake and carb of course. a bypass type fuel pressure regulator to keep proper pressure at your carb. A drop base air cleaner. However, if you are looking to mod and simply don't know much about the crossfire other than various negatives you've heard or been told shoot me a pm and i'll tell ya how to make it quicker on a budget a step at a time, all the way to the 13's without breaking the bank. Either way, best of luck and enjoy your Vette!

jhammons01

where is EFI-CFI?

85vette-84vette

Is that the "RACE ON " guy?

85vette-84vette

What is with the secret PM stuff? Let the rest of us know.

Iroc57

Good catch
I forgot about the dist and regulator

xrcrx

No secret, just short on time and didn't wanna spell it all out if the OP wasn't interested.

xrcrx

I missed the 383 ref in the original postThe 383 will require clearancing the crossmember for the damper assembly. A 383 uses a larger diameter than the 350. You will have to notch it or heat it and hammer it in to get enough clearance. Also, a 383 will not work with CFI unless you change to a 7747 ECM with HAM board and EBL FLash or a similar set-up and prepare to tune! The stock ecm won't work and no "chip" will supply what you need to make it run properly. There have been a few 12sec crossfires using this method.

99mainebusa

What kind of horse power can be gotten from the crossfire engine. Ive read about the x-ram manifold, roller cam, roller rockers and fuel pump.

qws

All depends on your mods and your research done. You'd be surprised at what flow you can get through there with the right modifications, I was!
For me with the X-ram only boosted me up about 36hp at the wheels, lost a bit of low end then put in rr's and a stall.

hexane

84 would be the easiest to converted. They require less tinkering with the fuel system because the fuel pressure is already close to where a carb would put you. I'm currently helping a friend with converting over his old 84 with the crappy 4+3 transmission. Ever since I recently converted my 89 to carb, tuning it hasn't ever been easier. Here's a universal parts/to do list:

550-650 cfm carb. 550 cfm for a stockish 350 and 650 for hotter applications. A 65/72 jet combination should be perfect for most 350s while 383s would need something like a 70/80 combination.

low profile carb intake, i.e. edelbrock performer (necessary if you don't want to cut your hood.)

vac. advance distributer

fuel lines for carb, clamps, 3/8" rubber fuel hoses

low pressure external fuel pump (for 85 thru 91 Vettes)

AFPR set at 5.5 psi

Basic automotive knowledge is required. Remove VATS if so equipped so you can crank over the engine. Fuel pump must be wired to come on when the key is at the on position. Radiator fans could either be on full time or toggled with an on/off switch. I'd prefer a thermostatic switch though.

If you have an automatic car, I suggest you wire a toggle switch to lock up the torque converter, especially on a long cruise.

An auto car also needs a TV cable adjustment bracket which is mounted on throttle lever because most carb throttle levers are designed for most non-overdrive transmissions, i.e. THM-350.

All the rumors about how carbs get bad gas mileage is likely inaccurate. First of all, most carb applications don't use a lock up torque converter, and/or use a 3 speed transmission with no overdrive. That is about half of the reasons of why carbs "supposedly" get bad fuel economy. The other half is the tune. If you can tune the carb to develop an afr of 13:1 on med. to full throttle, idle at about a 14:1 afr, cruise at about 15:1, you can actually get pretty decent fuel economy on this low tech junk. I have a wideband O2 on my car for this reason. It is one of the tools you will need for ultra precise tuning. Of course you will get significantly worse fuel mileage if you beat on it and/or if your motor is as heavily cammed as mine is.

Good luck and welcome to the Dark Side!

Happydad

AHHHHHHH Another comes over to the "Dark Side"

hexane

And lovin' it too!

99mainebusa

What about the gauges in the car? Will the digital guages still read and operate correctly?

LD85

uh,,, Y

qws

yes they will except for mpg

84REDCROSSFIRE

JUST DO IT !
If the ceasefire isn't working, CARB it.

corvette kidd

Can I use a mechanical advance distributor???? I picked up a Summit billet set up with the ignition box and coil included.

sbc 350- 4 bolt main
Forged Flat Tops
Shaved crank
Aluminum Heads (2.02 / 1.60)
Harlem Sharp Roller Rockers
Air Gap Intake (haha)
750 Carb

Let me know. Im hoping to turn the key on the motor soon.

Thanks all