Eastern Iowa: Building a TBI 350 for my wife's 85 Monte Carlo SS

Hello, Introducing myself, been lurking around for several years, finally got the shop space to start on an EFI project.

I picked up a 1989 K1500 pickup with 143,000 miles, a 350ci and a five speed manual for $500. I plan to use this engine and ECU as the base for an EFI 350 engine to go in my wife's 1985 Monte Carlo SS. I haven't pulled the ECU out of the dash as of yet, but based on what I have read here it should be the 1227747 ECU that is well documented here. I plan to leave the engine in the truck and play around with the stock motor until I am comfortable with tuning and deleting the emissions control. Shortly after I will remove the engine for a complete overall. During the overhaul I plan to change the cam to get an honest 350lb-ft and 350 horsepower at the flywheel. The motor will go back into the truck for final tuning, where it will then be dropped into the 85.

I will be around. Pictures to follow later.

Welcome.

It sounds like you have a thought about this for a while. The later truck pcm is a little more flexible but there are plenty of 7747 controlled engines in that power range. Make sure you pick components that provide enough air and fuel to match the desired power level. The swirl port heads are not good for power above about 5500 rpm so you're looking for 350-ish ft/lbs to get 350 hp with them.