What motor?

[cwn anwyn]

I've been reading through all the various threads on 400's, 454's, 383's etc. But I cant really decide which way to go with my rig. I have a tired 350 in my 84. Originally I thought about going through it and building a 383. But Household Six has said my budget is very limited so thats out of the question.I would like to stick around 500-800 for a used mill or rebuild my current junk. I've got a SM465/NP205 setup that I am going to drop in. I just have to figure out what to bolt it up to.

I've found a couple of options locally.

A) Should I sink in the money and freshen up the 350? Rebuild the heads and convert to TBI (have 95% of the parts to swap)?

B) Buy a rebuilt 400 that someone has been holding on to for a project thats not going to happen any time soon? I dont know much about this motor other than its a fresh rebuild and its been garaged for atleast 8 months. They are asking $600.

C) Pick up a Craigslist 454 out of a 93 truck. Its complete and includes the harness and ECU. Supposedly around a 110K on it when pulled to scrap the truck. Asking $500 for it

D) Another Craigslist 454 out of a 94 Suburban. Complete, pan to TBI and all accessories. No harness/Ecu. Asking $500 for it.

And finally E) Torn apart Olds 455. Supposedly everything has been machined and is ready to be rebuilt. Asking $350 for it but I figured it would take atleast 2-3 times that to rebuild and swap in.

There are a couple of other motors out there. All are around 600+.

So where would the CK5 Collective figure out the most bang for my buck would be? I'm thinking freshen up what I have. But a 400 sounds nice too. Then again, who can technically resist the call of a big block if I could pick one up cheap.

Z

 

[496truck]

B.

Without a doubt, that will be your easiest option. Basically, drop it in and swap over your accessories. You will need the proper 400 flywheel and balancer though. Not too expensive but should stay under budget even after the 400 purchase.

You will very easily go over budget rebuilding what you have.

You could very easily go over budget trying to swap in one of the FI big blocks.

 

[meanboyjr]

B.

Without a doubt, that will be your easiest option. Basically, drop it in and swap over your accessories. You will need the proper 400 flywheel and balancer though. Not too expensive but should stay under budget even after the 400 purchase.

You will very easily go over budget rebuilding what you have.

You could very easily go over budget trying to swap in one of the FI big blocks.

Agreed. The 400 sounds like the best (read: easiest and cheapest) way to give your truck a new lease on life, while keeping HH6 happy. It's already rebuilt, so you really just have to drop it in, minus the few parts needed for the swap.

A rebuild on your current engine could squeak in under the limit if you did most of the work yourself, and you didn't need too much time at the machine shop. I guess it depends on how tired your engine is at this point.

 

[cwn anwyn]

Thanks for the feedback. I am probably going to try for the 400. Hopefully the seller still has it up for sale. It wasnt listed anywhere but he is a hard guy to get ahold of sometimes.

Z

 

[blazinzuk]

I would take a look at the 400 first before I made any decisions at all.

I would probably just build the stock motor and put the fuel injection on it.

Unless you are going to put the fuel injection on the 400 also.

 

[cwn anwyn]

I had planned FI either way. If the 400 is good I would like to go that route. If not, I think I am leaning towards going through the 350. I was adding things up and just doing the heads eats up some money pretty quickly.

Z