new here, motor info

[86truck]

I bought an 86 4x4 with 350 drove it home and motor quit, done some work on it decided to replace it. question is what are my options, year wise, to trade out my 350 for? want to keep a 350 and I know anything prior will work and thinking it is up to 1993. any info would be great.
I am in Austin tx if anyone local wants to help out.

thanks

 

[76zimmer]

Most any 1st gen. would work, but the 86 and older had a two piece rear main seal, and the larger diameter center hole for that flywheel....later units (one piece seal) have a different diameter hole. Also center bolt valve covers on 87+ units and F.I. also.
Your truck probably has EST...electronic spark control, which will retard timing if knock is picked up by the block sensor. Probably and electronic Quad on it as well.

 

[86truck]

Neg on the electric carb and vac dist
Yeah will need new flywheel
I will need a different dist gear?

 

[y5mgisi]

Everything will bolt up as it is now from 73-86. Before that there is no accessory holes in the heads, and later than that is all the stuff 76zimmer said.

 

[tRustyK5]

Moved to the Garage where it belongs. The Driveway, where you posted this is for "Build threads", not general tech questions.

Welcome to CK5 btw!

 

[dyeager535]

If you want to go ancient, I guess 1968 all the way up to 2002 will work for a 350 donor.

A 1996-2002 will net you Vortec heads, which are a big improvement. Different intake, but that's not a major expense all things said and done. 1986+ will get you the one piece rear main, which is a big improvement in terms of preventing oil leaks. 1986+ from a car will get you a hydraulic roller camshaft. 1996+ in trucks will be hydraulic roller as well. Realistically, unless looking to go with a more aggressive cam, roller block isn't worth enough to really hold out for, but if you happen to find one, so be it.

The distributor gear issue between roller and non-roller cam isn't clear to me, I'm sure the info is out there though. I'd expect a 1986-1992 car V8 distributor would be a drop in replacement for a 1996-2002 Vortec distributor in that regard, but I'm not certain of that.

 

[paratrooper307]

This should be helpful. It is important to match your distributor gear to your cam, as roller cams and flat tappet are different.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/distributor_gears/

 

[454Sub]

roller vs non roller cams require different cam gears. I cant remember which one does which, but I had to buy a cam gear to install my dizzy from my small block when I put it in my roller cam big block.

 

[bubba blazer]

I just did a motor swap in my '86 350 to an earlier pre '79 block and here's what I ran into:

1980-1986 blocks are the the 1-piece rear main seal = different flywheel (per 76zimmer)
pre '79 has the dipstick on the driver's side. so oil pan may be different.
80-86 heads are "7-hole" exhaust manifolds.

When I did my swap I needed: "6-hole" exhaust manifolds (I just went with headers), different dipstick, new flywheel and a new oilpan.

Everything else should work - intake, distributor, valve covers, motor mounts, trans, accessory brackets, oil pump, water pump etc...

'87 up is a whole new engine (mostly on the intake side) but a few things will still bolt from your '86...

when this motor goes out, i think i'm going to go fuel injected next...

 

[82355]

The one piece rear main seal debuted in 1986, not 1980.

1987 is not a "whole new engine". They are cast as roller blocks, but not all of them are machined for it. The heads have the center two intake manifold bolts at a different angle (it is a better design), and they use center bolt valve covers (also a better design).

With the new oils (lacking zinc) I wouldn't bother using an old block, it is to cheap and easy to put a roller can in a 1987+ block.

Martin