Not sure where to go with my project from here... (back from hiatus and motor swap)

[chevy72blu]

Hey folks, it sure has been a while since I was a regular here. This will be a somewhat long winded, rambling post.

Leaving for college left my '72 in my folks garage for nearly 5 years unloved and totally neglected. Before leaving I (stupidly) sold off the cherry 383 that I had built for it in lieu of a gnarly BBC that I built over a year or two. I had big dreams of getting more seriously involved in bracket racing and like most 17 year olds, cared about nothing other than my 1/4 time. Shortly after I ran out of funds to finish the project and its sat for years at about 80% complete. Motor has still never run, and it breaks my heart every time I see it.

Fast forward to today and I am married, have my degree, stable employment, and just purchased my first home. My most recent DD blew a motor (it was cheap junk from craigslist to get me through college) and here I am sharing a car with my wife for the time being. I have the time and funds to finish the truck, but I find myself wishing for good mileage and reliable transportation rather than burning up the strip. Dont care about impressing my buddies, dont care about burnouts, dont care about having the most standout build. Funny how priorities change in just a few years, hmm?

I plan on pulling the BBC and shelving it for the next few years. Eventually I am going to want to go fast again and when that happens, I'll build a dedicated track car with it. I could sell it to fund more work on the truck, but I wont get a fraction out of it of what I put in.

So, if you were to take a good looking truck with a sound drive train and drop a new motor in, which way would you go? I am aiming for 14-15 MPG city and 18-20 high way, along with solid reliability and a simple swap. It'll be mated to a TH350, stock converter, and 3.73's (may swap out later or go to a 700r4 trans). 250+ hp will do me fine.

I have been reading about the 5.3 swaps and while they sound nice, I have zero clue what I am doing with electrical. Honestly, it took a long time to admit it because I faked it for a long time... But, I am worried about getting overwhelmed and abandoning it like I have previously.

I already installed an electric fuel pump and regulator, so I am considering going to a vortec head roller crate. Specifically, this one:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12530282/

I understand that these are only 255 hp motors, but rollers are a snap to change later. Would the higher compression and more modern heads result in better fuel economy?

Or, I K.I.S.S and go with a Gen I flat tappet
http://paceperformance.com/i-5146377...te-engine.html


I pretty much need to start over with brackets, so I would appreciate some advice on which way to go. For the first time in my life I would like something with instructions... . I've done enough junkyard diving for a while. Driverside 1 wire alternator, driverside P/S pump, passenger side AC Compressor.

I'll likely run another Edel 1406 carb on a cast iron intake (I have one laying around), and go back to the stock ramhorn manifolds to avoid the constant header leaks.

Thank you for your help!


Pics for your time, from back in her hey day.