Transplant time, anyone got any suggestions

[RocketChevy56]

I got a '69 swb fleetside 1/2 ton. Its got a 305 punched .030 over with flat top pistons, IROC-Z ported heads (64cc?), full-length headers, edlebrock intake and a quadra-junk. It doesn't quite have the power I'm looking for, I need some power to beat these little turbo ricers that run around this place. On the other hand, this like thing is kickin' around 17mpg. But since this is my daily driver, I need something that isnt going to get 6mpg and not NEED 93 octane. I'm up for just about anything though, Big block, small block, stroker, destroker. I got a a little $$ to play with, but I'm on a pretty tight budget. Anybody got any powerplant combination ideas that would suit my situation? Thanks!

[Longhorn Man]

A full sized vintage carb'd small block, getting 17 MPG? I think I'd just add a blue bottle and call it good.

[paaw]

what kind of gas mileage are you getting now and what gears do you have in the rear end

[glock35ipsc]

I keep kicking around the idea of a 4.8L V-8, or even a 4.3L V-6 just to be different.

[Sport/Truck]

I think you need a bigger carb in the near future.
If your quarda junk has electric choke I’m interested.
AFA the turbo ricers go….good luck especially with the constraints you just mentioned.
s/t

[jeffspower]

I agree with LM. If you are not satisfied with picking up power that way, you have some decisions to make. You are going to have to sacrifice something. If you are like me, it would be frustrating to spend money only to beat some of the locals. You probably have it in your head that you don't want to be beat by ricers ANYMORE. Unless you have some serious ricers to contend with, it won't be hard to do. But on a budget, you can kiss mpg goodbye. Find a buzzbomb for your daily driver, & make your truck into what you really want it to be. Since i'm sure you want to smoke them turkeys asap, buy the bottle & see how ya do. If you still can't take them, don't waist any more money on the 305. Build the biggest cubed engine you can afford. A 406 might be your best bet. Put your money in the bottom end. You can always upgrade heads & valvetrain later in a single day's work. Just keep in mind that if you build the bottom end for abuse, you won't be able to spin it like you want to until the top end is up to par.

I'm sure that a mild 406 on the bottle is gonna take care of your ricers, if you can get traction. You might have to drop the gate & strap on a few packs of shingles

[Jerry Jones]

the only thing that might beat cubic inches is cubic dollars.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

A full sized vintage carb'd small block, getting 17 MPG? I think I'd just add a blue bottle and call it good.

I'm getting 13 city and 15-16 highway with a 350(stock)/700R4/3.73 rear end. 17 mpg??? I'd leave it alone.

More power = less mpg.

IF you wanted to spend some BIG bucks (4-5K) you could find a wrecked camaro/firebird with the LS1? and 6 speed manual, and maybe (but doubtful) see the same fuel mileage #'s.

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by Jerry Jones

the only thing that might beat cubic inches is cubic dollars.

Forced induction, the replacement for displacement.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I'd also like to add welcome to the board and NICE ride you got there!

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by jeffspower

I agree with LM. If you are not satisfied with picking up power that way, you have some decisions to make. You are going to have to sacrifice something. If you are like me, it would be frustrating to spend money only to beat some of the locals. You probably have it in your head that you don't want to be beat by ricers ANYMORE. Unless you have some serious ricers to contend with, it won't be hard to do. But on a budget, you can kiss mpg goodbye. Find a buzzbomb for your daily driver, & make your truck into what you really want it to be. Since i'm sure you want to smoke them turkeys asap, buy the bottle & see how ya do. If you still can't take them, don't waist any more money on the 305. Build the biggest cubed engine you can afford. A 406 might be your best bet. Put your money in the bottom end. You can always upgrade heads & valvetrain later in a single day's work. Just keep in mind that if you build the bottom end for abuse, you won't be able to spin it like you want to until the top end is up to par.

I'm sure that a mild 406 on the bottle is gonna take care of your ricers, if you can get traction. You might have to drop the gate & strap on a few packs of shingles

Today’s rice grinders are very well balanced & w/ all wheel drive. I’m thinking it’s going to be hard to beat a stock STi or EVO8. let alone most of those cars are modded out from everything to bigger cams, turbos, injectors. They also have the ability to tune for optimum performance using the latest computer interfaces.
s/t

[jeffspower]

Agree. If there are serious ricers to beat, it isn't going to happen on a tight budget. But if all there is to deal with is the Civic/ fart can/ intake pipe crowd, it won't take much to smoke 'em.

[jeffspower]

I think ya just need to order an engine from this guy & get it over with

http://www.stevemorrisracingengines....ticle-SMRE.pdf

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by jeffspower

Agree. If there are serious ricers to beat, it isn't going to happen on a tight budget. But if all there is to deal with is the Civic/ fart can/ intake pipe crowd, it won't take much to smoke 'em.

That's for sure! Most of those cars just have cosmetic stuff, cannon sticking out the back, park bench for a spoiler etc.
Sex should be like a Honda. Slow, obscene, and loud enough your neighbors can hear.
s/t

[heavy71chevy]

406 is essentially a 400 punched isnt it?

[jeffspower]

Yep- .030 over

[franky69c10]

go with the 572...........

[sodak69c10]

an old engine builder told me the other day to take my old 283 punch it .100(i think is the number he said) steel crank heavy duty rods, add a set of vortec heads with bigger valves, a cam, a straight plenum intake. don't remember the rods to use but in the end you have a 301.7 essencially a 302. not alot of torque but you get a big bore small stoke engine that should rev quik

build it right and throw the bottle to it, or go fuel injected and run a turbo remember that your 8 cylinders can spool a bigger turbo than their 4 cyl

there are lots of good books on building many different engine combos good luck and welcome

[RocketChevy56]

I actually am switching to a Demon carb. This quadra-jet is electric choke and is freshly rebuilt, if you want it, we can def. work something out

[RocketChevy56]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm willing to sacrifice some mpg, but I was getting 7mpg with my last 350 I had in my '86 swb. big cam, high flow heads and such. If i'm to go down that road again I want some serious numbers to show for it. But Unfortunatly that truck and engine were stolen from me. Anyway, back to reality, My truck has 3.73 posi with trailing arms and a panhard bar and has 4-wheel airsprings. I got a set of 275/45/17 Nitto rubbers that are pretty sticky. the wheel-wells have been tubbed about 4 extra inches so I got the room for some pretty meaty tires. The 700R4 trans has been built to withstand an excess of 500hp, with a Hurst ratchet shifter. So basically everything is beefed up to support a fairly wicked engine. I have around $4,000ish to play with for now. I don't plan to dominate all these ricers buzzin around here, but not a whole lot of them are serious powerhouses. I don't have any intention of toying with turbo supras or STI's. But its down right embarassing for a truck like that to lose to little V-Tecs and some slightly modded bottom feeders around. I gotta make it home with some sort of dignity left. I need an efficient powerplant, some serious bang for the buck. I've noticed that 434ci produce some crazy numbers, however I'm not sure how. 335ci (305 bored and stroked) sounded tempting too. 383's arent for me however, I see them lurking under the hood of every other car or truck I look at, I'm trying to go against the norm, and I know ya'll got the ideas. Thanks again!!!!

[wibilly]

if you don't race them they won't knoe they can beat you you save the 4 grand and enjoy passing the gas station

[sodak69c10]

i have a 575 speed demon carb on my 283 good throttle response and i get 12mpg , i'm putting a built 406 in my truck on monday first one i';ve had so not sure how good it'll be.

$4000 dollars can build you one hell of a small, can always plan it so you can add on later

[Overkill67]

hehehe what ever you build make sure to use a "noisey" gear drive instead of a timing chain and watch some of those ricers wince and shudder and take a quick right hand turn back to the high school parking lot

I had one in my 74 Nova with a 400 4bbl 4 speed. Most guys/gals that heard that whine just looked and stared and never even challenged me

[fourty1]

Welcome,..
you must have TALL gears in the rear for those low diameter tires in the rear.
What th gearing,???.
I'm swapping out my eaton 4:57 gears, for a 14 bolt w/ 3:73 & 28 in tires...
-41-

[mnunn454]

RocketChevy56,

I see you already have an adequate drivetrain, so no suggestions there except for maybe a girdle for the 12-bolt.

Regarding normally aspirated engine choices, the cardinal rule is more displacement.

Given your budget limits, you should be able to go supercharger. If so you may need a beefier rotating assembly, but certainly a cam.

If you want to stay normally aspirated, and if 383's are out because you're going against the "norm" then then my only small block suggestion is a 406 or a 377 (400 block, 327 Crank). 377's will turn up like the Chevy 302's did and produce big numbers when called on. Finding a rebuildable 400 SBC block is rare but can be done.

That said, were it me, I'd find a good 454 block and heads (Friend of mine just picked up a machined 454 block with #781 heads for $750) and install a balanced forged 496 rotating assembly for about $2K. Add a cam and misc engine parts plus manifold, headers, starter, etc and you should have less than $5K in a 500 inch motor producing 550 horses and 600 foot pounds. Anything under $10 per HP is generally a good deal IMO. Also, the 2-bolt blocks are good to about 600 horses, so when combined with the forged rotating assembly, the setup should support a 100 horse nitrous shot if you felt so inclined.

Regarding the carb, a Demon or Holley carb can get reasonable mileage approaching that of your Q-jet, but you'll need to use O2 sensors and an air/fuel meter to precision tune the carb's idle circuit to economize on MPG at highway RPMs and loads. But don't expect that you'll get 17MPG. I'd think 13 or 14 would be optimal with your drivetrain depending on cam selection.

One weak link in all of this is the TH700's lockup converter. It may not hold if you're going all out.

That's my view on things. Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

BTW, BBC 69 SWB Fleetsides Rock!!!