Quote:
Originally Posted by Bandit130
Found coolant leaking from rear left head gasket. Also leaking oil from other places. Pan, front main, rear main, or maybe all of them. In process of diagnosing where leaks are coming from. Smokes when starting and found out that the valve stem seals are bad. I do not like any fluid leaks at all. Did not realize this could be a confusing situation cause I am not an engine guy.
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Ok. Sounds like a bunch of miles so gaskets & valve seals failing. To have a better understanding, is there a specific reason you wanted to stick w/the original block?
A 74 vintage truck 350 is usually a good block casting but keeping it all 'numbers matching' doesn't really do much other than it sounds good. I opted to have my 7.4L rebuilt because the only cores they had on the shelf were 2-bolt main blocks w/cast cranks (mine was/is a 4-bolt main/steel crank). If they would have had a similar set-up on the shelf, I would have swapped w/o blinking an eye.
Some good suggestions were mentioned earlier for a budget friendly approach (GM crate motors w/Vortec heads). You'll get better suggestions/info more tailored to what you want w/more info.
On my suggestions, most don't concern themselves w/the entire package & wouldn't mess w/the trans converter. But in reality, the right converter & gearing (knowing what you have) can help make a better overall package vs the wrong converter/gearing (w/a fresh combo that's not tailored to your trans/gearing).