Now what to do?

[tdcombs]

ive had a 72 blazer for about 5 years now. During that time its been a blast to drive, when it runs. The current engine is a supposed 383 but has never made power like it should. The good news is that i have secured garage space and have the time and money to do something about the motor this winter.

One thing that i know is that i want fule injection. I like the edlebrock setup but its kind of pricey. Other then that it needs to be reliable and have enough power to pull a boat to the lake. I cant afford a brand new crate engine. Should I rebuild the current engine, rebuild a 350 i have, or look for a newer fuel injected engine at a junk yard, if so which engine works well in these?

Ive gone back and forth on all the options and im open to other suggestions. I just want something that starts, and is reliable enough to be a daily driver should i choose to use it that way in the summers with decent power.

 

[GsxrMike]

What make you think the 383 needs a rebuild? Maybe it just needs to be tuned.

 

[jt512]

the first thing i would do is determine exactly what the engine is that you already have. run the numbers (block and heads) check the compression, try to find out what cam is in it, then measure bore and determine what crank is in it. too many times someone will put way to much carb, cam or mismatched componets on what could be a strong good running engine. like gsxrmike said it could be a matter of tuning or even a simple cam and carb swap could feel like a whole different mill.

 

[tdcombs]

I kind of think that it might be just miss matched componets. Just dont know if it might be better to start from scratch with the 350 that i pulled out of a 79 GMC and know whats inside it.

So im gathering that the first step that i should do is determine what i have before giving up on it?

 

[jt512]

definetly, i had a 85 k5 with what was supposed to be a 355 roller motor, it was a complete turd! compresion was good, had a monster roller cam (3500-7500 rpm range, that was set 4 degrees retarded?) a edl. performer intake (idle-5500 rpm) a holley 770 street avenger carb, a stock mechanical fuel pump, and stock convertor in the trans. i changed the cam, put a edl. 600 carb on it , reset timing , and upgraded the fuel pump and it was like i put a big block in it. matched components can make all the difference, and knowing how you are really going to use it.