What do I do now (engine swap)?

[Gary]

Ok I got the 85 home, it's a real beauty (see sig)

Now the "dilemma" the 305 just ain't cutting it for me, it's not very strong and I want to replace it.

Now I got that 72 sitting there with a pretty strong 402BB and it's likely gonna be a year or more before I get that 72 done so that motor's just gonna sit mostly, should I:

A: swap motors, then when I'm done with the 72 either swap back or just get a monster motor for it
B: leave the 72 alone and just order a nice crate SBC for the 85 truck?

The 85 has a 3 speed auto (TH350 I assume) and I really want to swap over to 700r4, the 72 has a 700r4 and I love it, I'm hooked on the overdrive I must admit.

So what do you think I should do and why? Right now I'm leaning towards swapping motors and getting a fresh 700r4 for the 85 from bowtieoverdrives, if I buy a motor the pocketbook won't really have enough room for a new transmission TOO but if I just swap motors I can get that fresh 700r4 too.

The 72 is only gonna be driven around to get worked on for quite a while to come so that tired 305 will be fine for that. Frankly so would the TH350 but that truck already has a 700r4 so I ain't taking it out.

[84 400]

wow with the 402 the 85 would be a bad a&& truck man. love the pics in the sig. What else you planning on the 72 gmc?? love that too. not only is it a 72 style but it is a gmc!! good luck and i would swap the 402 then get somthing even bigger for the 72 or somthing alittle diffrent. Was the 402 in the 72 when you got it? any new pics of the 72?? thanks and good luck. Btw did you install the valve covers on the 305? i have a 400 small block that i want to get a set of those for. Thanks agian

[Gary]

The 402 is strong, damn strong, it'll start smoking the tires (er tire, it's not a posi) without EVEN trying and if I TRY? total meltdown, no cheating by using brakes either, it'll smoke 'em nearly into 3rd gear and totally piss the neighbors off Surprised I ain't sprayed that 700r4 all over the road yet cause I just can't help putting my foot in it when I drive it.

The 72 is being "fixed up" (changing it to a red or beige color, I keep waffling back and forth between red with beige racing stripes or beige with red) I have all new interior, carpet, wheels (no tires yet that'll be the last thing I buy) and all I need now is to paint it, since I can't find a local body shop who seems to want to do the job reasonably (I'm building this truck to DRIVE I don't need a show-ready paint job I need a good sturdy job nothing fancy) and I just can't pay $5000 to have the damned thing painted. So I'm hopefully taking a body shop class this coming semester at the adult education center and I'm gonna paint the damned thing myself. Once it's painted it'll be time to build the motor, either use the 402 as is until it starts showing wear or build another big block and there I think I'm just gonna take an engine class and try and do THAT myself too maybe.

I literally JUST got home with the 85, we drove up to Kentucky on Thursday of this week to get it, and I've not done jack to it but fill it up with gas, and have the oil changed and maybe drove it for 100 miles so far. One thing that sold me on it was the frankenstein front grill, 85 truck with an 88 suburban grill don't see that every day.

What I -want- to do is get a 502 for the 72. But alas, the pocketbook may not allow that extravagance when the time comes. What I hope to do is get the 72 to the point of "all it needs now is a new motor" point, and then sell the 85 and buy the biggest motor that will get me (plus maybe a little thrown in on top).

Yes the 402 was in the 72 when I got it, factory air too!

[piecesparts]

SO, what does your pocketbook say? Big Block power means more fuel consumption. We all want to stomp grass and kick A&&, but the OPEC (Oil Producers Extortion Committee) is making it hard to do and still put a burger under the belt. The 85's 305 is most undoubtedly weak compared to the 402, so that is why you feel the pain. I have a 383 stroker in my 84 and it averages around 14 to 15 MPG with a 700R4 and a posi 3.73 rear. My thought would be to leave the 72 alone ---the 402 is part of that era. Build or purchase a strong small block for the 85 and drive the tires off of it, unless that big block bug is really under your skin.

[Gary]

Well the reason I'm selling that 03 and bought the 85 is, since I bought the Ford (18 months ago) I've put roughly 5400 miles on it, which translates into a $1.50 per mile in payments and insurance, I don't drive much so I finally decided it was just stupid to have a payment when I don't drive more than I do. So gas mileage isn't important (the Ford gets 12.2-12.8 when I check it).

Instead of making that $400 a month car payment I can devote that cash instead to fixing up/keeping running the two old trucks, that means if I put a motor on my card if I send in $400 per month to the card I'll be able to pay off any motor or transmission I buy in a quickness. Though I try to keep a 3 month rule on my cards, if I ain't got it paid off in 3 months then I shouldn't have bought it (or if I don't figure I'll be able to pay it off in 3 I don't buy it).

One other pull is, everyone has 350's (and other SBCs) in their trucks (73-87 era) you just hardly ever see one of those with a big block in it and "not being like everyone else" is always something that appeals to me when I can pull it off anyway

[piecesparts]

Go for what makes it right for you. Big Block trucks, like what you are talking about, were very predominant around here for a long time--until the gas prices went up. Now the trucks have disappeared and the small blocks are coming back.