to molest or not...hum

[mtdave2]

As some of you know I have a low mile unmolested (other than by me) longhorn. After setting for years the engine now leaks oil, bad. There are some other issues as well. Also the 350 doesn’t give me the torque I need to pull my trailer.

The first idea was the 383 stoker, using my current original motor with 50k on it. Great idea, but the money is a bit high right now. I do have a friend who has a 396 big block that he just rebuilt, that he is whiling to sell at an attractive price. This would solve my torque prob as well as all the other ones too.

The down side is I would be violating my fanatical “keep it as stock as you can” rule. Now I have violated it before, HEI, trany temp gauge, wheels, ect” but nothing that cant be undone easily. The question is, how many modes will I have to do with this swap? Will the motor mounts work? Use the same fan shroud?

I will have to put on headers, and find some a/c brackets, but from what I understand this isnt a big deal as far as swaps go. The old 350 I can just wrap up and stick in a corner until Im ready to rebuild. Mean while id have a reliable torque filled motor..

Input? Opinons?