New driveline choice

[Green79Scottsdale]

Since you mentioned doing swaps, how about this...

Get an L31-R (Vortec) crate long block. Holley Sniper EFI or equivalent. That’s a touch over $3k there. Add in an intake manifold, ignition, and fuel pump, and you pretty well got it. You can be getting all this ready on the stand while you are driving the truck, then do the swap over a weekend or so. Minimum downtime and a zero mile power plant with good future power potential if/when needed.

 

[4WDKC]

Ya. I thought about it enough to be satisfied with my input after I decided that a 6 inch rod 362 would overshoot 300 horse too much, lol.
Hey an '89 S-10 4x4 is a saweeet back up ride! I'm kinda jealous.

The chip burner company i'm thinkin of is one man's name I think. I probably saw about him on this msb a long time ago. If not here I might have read it on gmt400.com or whatever that ******** is called because f*ck those jagoffs.

SOMEBODY else will chime in, eventually.

Camshaft choice is easy. Probably best to pick about half as much increase as you wish it was. Lol. Computer controlled will NOT like hella overlap, even in a CCC system. Sure it possible but everything is pay to play. The chip burner guy will probably be a humongous help as he will know his / the limits of what he can do.
Aluminum heads will allow a great compression increase which will equal more, better power without having to run such a crazy cam that it's expensive to tune around.
By the time you snag some good 1.5" headers and free flow exhaust....it's really gonna boil down to the cylinder heads - and the intake. TBI is so trouble free, I wouldn't begin to consider anything else.

But you know, 'Murica and stuff. Maybe you SHOULD big block it...

General rule of thumb for these tbis is when in doubt keep the LSA 112 or above, In the process o finstalling one now we will see how it goes.

I’ve done a lot of research on this topic because I am looking to do the same thing as you are. I don’t really want to rebuild my current engine, I’d rather just buy a crate motor and drop it in. The two Best motors I’ve found that are complete are the one from pace performance and the ram jet 350


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Find a running vortec 350 for cheap, rebuild it while daily driving the current engine rather than something unreliable. Vortec engines are rated at 255 hp with like a 191/196 .414/.428 lift going to an aftermarket should get you to the 300hp mark easily.

 

[75gmck25]

If you want to make a direct swap to a higher output engine, take a look at this combination from Blueprint engines. Summit, Jegs and other sell them with free shipping. It has most of the features I think I would want (Vortec heads, roller cam, 1 pc rear seal, etc.), and puts out some decent horsepower. However, the cam is too aggressive to work with a stock TBI, so you would need to use an aftermarket EFI.
https://blueprintengines.com/collec...s/gm-350-with-vortec-heads-roller-cam-1pc-rms

Bruce

 

[Gray87GMC]

If you want to make a direct swap to a higher output engine, take a look at this combination from Blueprint engines. Summit, Jegs and other sell them with free shipping. It has most of the features I think I would want (Vortec heads, roller cam, 1 pc rear seal, etc.), and puts out some decent horsepower. However, the cam is too aggressive to work with a stock TBI, so you would need to use an aftermarket EFI.
https://blueprintengines.com/collec...s/gm-350-with-vortec-heads-roller-cam-1pc-rms

Bruce

What do you think about this one?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIkJDhzKv11wIVVJ7ACh3bPwiDEAQYAiABEgIr2fD_BwE

 

[87silveradok20]

I should add in to watch on the blueprint engines they seem to like to run big cams with vortec heads which is not a good combo.


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[Battlac40]

west coast engines makes a way better product with simular pricing. https://westcoastengines.com
Check it out.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

I’d be asking what the compression ratio is, don’t wanna buy one only to find out you either have to lake so much timing out of it and lose hp,not to ping or have to run premium in it but if that isn’t a concern seems ok

 

[rpcraft]

I know you already kinda seem oriented towards a SBC replacement but for 2k you can diy a great LS swap and to be honest if you do some research, avoid the fuckery of people giving you bad info, and shop wisely, you can probably do it for considerably less, have your FI and reliability then take what you save and spend it on a cam and some flat top pistons and you'll be pushing more like 300+ horse to the rear wheels... You just have to be patient, wait, and have the money to get that good deal when it comes about.

 

[peats]

i don't know why more of you guys aren't running 400 engines from the 70's. they are cheap, plentiful, produce lots of torque and are very reliable. put a mild cam in it, vortec heads, an air gap, and the carb of your choice. all for less than 3k. then gear it down to match the newfound torque. guys with the 4x4's or bigger vehicles would probably went a RV style cam. been running one in my 72 k5 for years. awesome. maybe not necessary in the lighter c 10. presently building an '81 c 10 short step with a 360/700r4,original patina. should be driving by spring

 

[Honky Kong jr]

i don't know why more of you guys aren't running 400 engines from the 70's. they are cheap, plentiful, produce lots of torque and are very reliable. put a mild cam in it, vortec heads, an air gap, and the carb of your choice. all for less than 3k. then gear it down to match the newfound torque. guys with the 4x4's or bigger vehicles would probably went a RV style cam. been running one in my 72 k5 for years. awesome. maybe not necessary in the lighter c 10. presently building an '81 c 10 short step with a 360/700r4,original patina. should be driving by spring

Another Pa resident.....400s suck to keep cool with any kinda hp running threw them been to that movie and well I didn’t like the ending...

 

[rpcraft]

Most reason noone runs 400's is because most of them melted from overheating LOL The 400 was a decent block until you did anything that increased its power output and then it did have problems keeping cool but I often wonder if you were to combine it with a big aluminum radiator and some adequate electric fans it would not fare a little better than it did back in the day.

 

[peats]

well denver, maybe you didnt properly cool your engine. maybe you just built a turd. i am not talking about 400hp at 6'000 rpm i'm talking about a solid powerful daily driver. power right off idle. torque out the gazoo with out having to go big block and on a reasonable budget. i have had a few of these engines without issues.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

well denver, maybe you didnt properly cool your engine. maybe you just built a turd. i am not talking about 400hp at 6'000 rpm i'm talking about a solid powerful daily driver. power right off idle. torque out the gazoo with out having to go big block and on a reasonable budget. i have had a few of these engines without issues.

11.47 in the 1/4 nope only turd part was the Siamesed 400 block......I’ll stick with my big blocks

 

[peats]

not exactly a street engine, i guess we are talking about apples and oranges. if i remember correctly this thread started out as a search for a replacement engine on a c 10. daily driver. i see where you get your nickname from.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

not exactly a street engine, i guess we are talking about apples and oranges. if i remember correctly this thread started out as a search for a replacement engine on a c 10. daily driver. i see where you get your nickname from.

It was driven on the street lol yea in stock form I’m sure the 400 was an effective engine. No sarcasm here....what part of Pa?