Quote:
Originally Posted by Libertad
reliable daily driver with mild cam
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You don't need to spend that kind of money on a bare block then. Only somebody pushing the limits of a stock block needs to find the 010 / 020 block.
Go to the local pull-it-yourself wrecking yard and find a 1973 to 1985 vintage 3/4-ton truck. Most had 4-bolt 350's with unleaded compatible heads. Some even came with steel cranks. My local one sells complete engines for $140 plus tax. The core charge for a remanufactured short block is twice that and you will get a whole set of spare accessories too.
Look for one that has been hit and you will probably find a decent running engine that may not need much if any machine work to freshen it up.
I would pull the oil pan at the yard and make sure there is noting obviously wrong with it and that the engine turns over freely by turning the balancer bolt. If it all looks good I would take it home and tear it down the rest of the way to make sure it doesn't need machine work. If it needs major work take it back and get another one.
My yard frowns upon you tearing engines apart in the yard that you are getting as an assembly and wants you to take only what was on that engine but you can mix & match parts if you want. If they say something I tell them I was only going to get the heads but after taking them off I decided to get the whole engine.
When you get a block with little to no ridge on the bores and a smooth crank you can just freshen it up with rings, bearings, gaskets, a timing set, oil pump and all steel oil pump drive shaft and a mild cam. Put new valve springs and silicone umbrella style valve stem seals into the heads and you are good to go for a street motor.
The Comp Cams 260H cam grind #12-206-2 is what I ran in my 81 K20 truck with a Performer intake and it made great low end power and had great mid range too. Perfect for a daily driver truck.