Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and GM vehicles. Does anyone have experience on carb to tbi engine swaps? A friend said it's pretty straightforward but it's proven near impossible to find any info. Every search brings up tons of info on tbi to carb conversions or swaps. Any posts about tbi are about conversions, not swaps.

It sounds like minimum I will need to find a donor ECM and PROM, electronic fuel pump, and fuel return line. Along with the engine, sensors, exhaust manifold with the sensors, and maybe the donor electric speedometer? Possibly adding a speed sensor. I've also read something about needing a fuel tank with baffles. If it isn't obvious, I don't know much about old chevys. I've always had 90s Jeeps or Fords unfortunately.

My engine seized 50 miles after buying an '83 2500 van so I figure if I'm replacing the 305 may as well upgrade to something better and less sensitive to elevation... I plan on traveling anywhere from a few hundred feet elevation all the way up to 11,000. I'm in Colorado.

I also wonder I should just call it a loss and get a different van...

 

I think part of the reason you can't find much info is because that swap was popular before the internet. I have all the parts to put TBI on an old truck. I'm doing it just because I don't want to swap out the block and I picked up all the parts over a decade ago (I'm really slow at projects!). Finding parts that old these days is getting hard. Yes you need a gas tank with baffles, return line, and all that other stuff. You don't need to replace the speedometer but will need a VSS signal to the ECU...or look into an aftermarket ECU like a megasquirt or speeduino.

These days if you want to do a swap do an "LS" swap. All the information is out there, there are wrecked vehicles with low'ish miles to get everything from. The iron block "LS" (L96 really) found in the Express/Savana is a good and "simple" engine. If you get it from a van it will even come with the 7 foot long dip-stick you need.

 

Here's the problem you have. To get all the parts you need for this swap you'll about have to buy a donor van. Then you have a second running van.

I think you would have an easier time with an LS swap, because Holley and others make controls for these to let you run them in older cars. It will probably cost more up front. Vice Grip Garage even put a Dodge Hemi in a 1982 Chevy pickup and used one of these deals to control it.

There are LS into 80s van swap videos on youtube too, I watched one that was about six parts long and he didn't have too much trouble.

The other choice would be to just run a carb on a 350 or 400 small block.