advice/ optionis on dead 350v8

[hcaz095]

1972 c10 highlander, 350v8, auto...

Going down the highway I dropped all my oil and subsequently got a nice motor knock... Shut her down and now the truck has been sitting for a few months. Im going to have to move soon, and would like to get her going again rather than leave her sit as is. What would the typical cost be for a bottom end rebuild? What other parts of the engine should I be worried about? Will I have to do this out of frame?

Seeing as the tear-down rebuild could be both timely & costly, what are your opinions for an engine replacement compared to the time & $ for rebuilding. Im not thinking this will be a permanent fix as I bought this truck to put a small diesel and manual trans in...

~Zach

[hugger6933]

Go with a goodwrench motor. You can get them from your localGM dealer [for around 1500] and they come with a warranty. Summit and jegs also sells themm I saw in the Jegs book today a 350 was 1499 and it came with a new dist and spark plug wires. Those motors are a great replacment. Jim

[Ticker]

Yeah, the quickest approach would be a GMPP 350/260 HP if you're really sure you're not going to want to build it up later. There are better choices if you're thinking you want to add some "grunt" to it later.

[mrhino]

If your not planning on keeping the small block and dont want a complete rebuid. you could always put a crank kit in it. For about a $100. It would come with a new crank, rod bearings and main bearings. Get a new oil pump, pick up and a lower gasket set and that should, take care of anything, running it out of oil would have hurt. Now obviously this is not they way to do complete rebuild. but if your looking for a cheap fix and you dont plan on keeping it. it would probably be the best and cheapest bet for a couple hundred bucks. you might wont to get a timing chain and gears too.

[raycow]

The crank kit will work only if you haven't spun any bearings. To find out, you will have to open up the engine first and pull all the bearing caps.

If your desire is to get the truck driveable for the least investment in time, work or money, swap in a salvage yard engine. You can do the whole job in about a day.

Ray

[cdowns]

for quick cheap fix check craigslist// look for a smallblock that you can hear running in the $300-$500 range