Recently bought a 84 with the crossfire injection system, I was wondering if you guys knew any good alternatives to that injection system, I'm also pretty new to car stuff like this and I would appreciate any advice.

 

Good thing you brought this up. Amazingly it has never been discussed here before.

 

Sooo true...




I'll bite, if nothing else so he doesn't feel ignored


Sell it.

Full stop, period, abort mission.

Don't molest it in an attempt to start a swap to something "better", go buy the engine power you actually want in a different C4
230HP = L98 TPI
300HP = LT1
330HP = LT4
375? HP = LT5
Want even more power? But want it reliable? More comfortable? Want to drop it at the local dealership whenever you need anything fixed? If so just buy a C5, C6, C7, C8.

Just consider the '84 as the one that got you hooked on Corvettes

Too many people that claim to actually know how to work on cars end up not understanding how simple/reliable the Cross-Fire is and start a carb swap that doesn't work out and it sits and eventually gets sold as a "roller" , or they start a "simple junkyard LS swap" and 2 years later it's still in pieces and gets sold to the next guy as a "project car" for way less than a running '84 would let alone the $ loss on all those parts

If you think I'm kidding or being mean, look at Craigslist/Facebook market place or the like. You'll see em everywhere with parts piled up in the seats and the body covered in thick dust. Usually they sold the "junky crossfire" intake stuff already to pay for parts on their now money pit project. Granted nowadays you'll even see the L98 and an increasingly high number of LT1s going the same route.

LS baby! Oh, I have to do more than just unbolt rebolt and go... Then they let it sit after they already sold the working parts to pay for the "easy" swap and their multitude of buddies/cousins/coworkers that encouraged them to do it cause "it's so easy" are nowhere to be found to help them

You being humble enough to admit you are "new to car stuff like this" will actually save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful you admitted it vs us telling you the reality of what's involved and then you arguing against people who have been there and done that decades ago. That actually happens way too often on here

However if you like proving people wrong, buy an 84 Factory Service Manual ( FSM ) and read it cover to cover a couple times. Use the search feature here on the forum and read up on the Crossfire for about 300+ hours over the next year. Then apply what you've learned and find out it can be made to run as well as the L98 (which is only 25HP away) if you're willing to put in the effort, or possibly even better power wise if you are willing to spend the money on new heads, exhaust, and port your intake or go with a bolt in Renegade if you can find one, or an Offenhauser 5893 intake if you are willing to really go full on modification crazy. Getting a Flash II EBL becomes a priority if you go much more than stock tho, so your electrical knowledge/experience becomes a necessity too at this point. But, by that point it usually requires an investment equal to the cost of a crate motor.

So look in the mirror really carefully and be completely honest with yourself. Do you want to go down this road, or just enjoy the torquey 205HP '84 for the curve carver it is. Only you can answer that question. We'll be here to show you the "how" when you ask. But in the end you're the one writing the checks and turning the wrenches

 

Congrats on your 84. It is a cool car but you need to have an understanding of what it is and what is was designed to do 40 years ago. Dont judge an 84 in 2024 and expect the same performance and features as modern cars.. As mentioned above, if you are un happy with the performance, just get a different car.

The car itself was revolutionary as the first real computer controlled Corvette. It was Motor Trends car of the year. It was consiered to be very quick for the era, but for todays standards not so much.

The motor for the 84 was a compromise being built only a couple of years 82-82. The real problem with the engine was in the clogging intake manifold and not the fuel injection system. The intake manifold was designed for a 305 and the engineers put it on a 350 as a cost savings so ports did not match very well consequently hurting air flow.

You can get morer out of it with a couple of simple (and yes expensive) changes.
Intake manifold- this is the biggest bang for your buck. Get a used Renegede or take yours off and port/open the internals and match the head ports. There is a lot of videos on how to do this and will make a big difference.
Headers/Exhasuts- Increase air in and increase air out is a pretty simple racer adage. The exhaust system is pretty bad and designed for emmissions control. Lots has changed ove the years so headers with high-flow cats will make a big difference.
Timing adjustment. Bump the timing up to 12ish after you do the above mods and your engine will be super happy
Fuel pressure- now that your engine wants more, consider swapping in a 85-89 fuel pump with more pressure as your engone will need it.

You do this and you can expect to see 240ish hp and for comparison a 1984 Porsche 944 had about 145. Also, you eninge mods will work 100% with the way your car was designed s not cutting, splicing or reprograming.

If you love your 84 as a piece of rolling history that is fun, you will have a better perspective.

 

My standard response is swap out the L83 for a good used vortec 350, put a carb intake on the vortec, put a tbi adapter on that, and run a truck tbi unit from 87-89. All your connectors will hook up to the tbi and your stock ecm will run it.