Reality Check what engine.

[Bigstevex4]

Live on north side Black Hills SD. My 83 aint much to look at but drives good pretty solid over all. But the 6 banger is just to slow. every one passes me going uphill. Setting here drooling over Engines Ime looking at the 572 GM crate. But in reality my budget is closer to $2500 than $14,500 .
Looking at one of the turn key 350s don't have emission issues and it would bolt right up. would stick with 465 trans for now.Radiator all that can be updated later. No A/c Just P.S. and alt brackets hoses belts motor mounts.
Any suggestion's?

[71swb4x4]

I would get a 350, it will have plenty of power.
What are your future plans with the truck? Is it a 2wd or 4wd?

Edit: I see now in your sig that its a 2wd. What about an LS swap? Not terribly difficult on a 2wd.

[Tilt]

A crate 350 would definitely be easier and faster.

[S10Fan]

Summit and Jegs both run specials on the 290 HP 350 crate, usually free shipping, and a warranty, that's what I'd do. Good Luck!

[SkinnyG]

Keep it cheap, throw in a 350, and save that money for a down payment on a house/property. That's just my opinion.

[joe231]

If you are patient and frugal you could do a 5.3LS for your $2500 budget...
Better mileage and power than a carb'd 350

[andrewmp6]

gm performance parts your paying more for the name,For the price of a 572 you can get a world 632 with a lot more power.Now if you can do the engine swap yourself you could get a 350 maybe 383 if you find one used in good shape and rebuilt 700r4 for about that 2500,Or like said truck 5.3 and 4l60 if you look hard for a deal.

[rich weyand]

If you get a 350 crate engine, get the 350/260, not the 350/290. The cam in the 350/290 is all wrong for a truck. For that matter, it's all wrong for a low-compression engine. The 350/260 will actually feel more powerful in typical street driving than the 350/290, because the torque is higher below 3000 rpm in the 350/260 than in the 350/290.

If you want more power, you can re-cam the 350/260 before you put it in. Comp Cams 12-235-2 and 12-300-4 are both good candidates. The choice between them is based on how low you want the torque curve to go, for which you sacrifice a little hp on top. Of course, re-camming will void the warranty, but you can't have everything.

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by joe231

If you are patient and frugal you could do a 5.3LS for your $2500 budget...
Better mileage and power than a carb'd 350

Excellent suggestion!

[greg64]

I grant you, this is probably too much money, but I think the HT383 crate would be a great engine. http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...9101/overview/

Only a third the price of the 572!

[MikeB]

I'm in the process of replacing my 82 C10's 250 six and 3-speed manual trans with a 355 + TH350. I'm going the "build it myself" route, but if I were to buy a GM crate engine I'd go with either the base Goodwrench 350 that you can find for around $1600 or less including freight, or the 330hp/350. As Rich said above, the 290hp/350 is simply the base engine with a bigger cam (too big for the low compression). And its price adder is just nuts.

If you're looking for torque to go up hills, and don't care about power above 4500 RPM, it's hard to beat the base Goodwrench 350's bang for the buck. I ran one in a 69 C10 for many years, and a buddy of mine has one in a 51 Chevy pickup. Smooth idle, decent gas mileage, and great low-mid RPM torque. And if it's within your budget, that HT383 would be an awesome engine with stump-pulling power.

[Bigstevex4]

Thanks yes the 350 is what i was thinking. A little sarcasim with 572 just needed opinions on right one. thanks. Thats interesting Rick about the cams. I can build one but
i have nothing for a 350 have to buy intake carb. so on new plus the real reason ime getting old and lazy.

[xole]

I am happy with the GM Goodwrench 350 I put in my '86 K10 w/sm465. If you are like me you will also spend some of your budget on "while you are in there" things.

Also, lessons learned....don't use tall valve covers (if you are adding bling) and truck headers may cause you to have to get creative on some braketry.

[rich weyand]

Note that since you have nothing for a 350, there's a bunch of other stuff that you will need, and so that needs to be figured into your costs to come in on budget. Here's my recommendations for the basics for what they're worth. It will at least give you a baseline to compare to for both cost and performance. This setup will yield 290 hp @4000 and 420 lbft @ 2500.

GM 350/260 crate engine #10067353. $1450 includes shipping.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Perf...oductId=752506

Comp Cams camshaft #12-230-2. $115. No new springs or lifters required if engine has not been run yet.
http://www.jegs.com/i/COMP+Cams/249/12-230-2/10002/-1

Edelbrock intake manifold for Qjet #2101. $156.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350/...rentProductId=

SMI Quadrajet Stage 2 Carburetor #335002. $419.
https://www.smicarburetor.com/produc...2/productID/47

Hooker #2452 Headers (for 4WD, use #2453). $220.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker+Headers/520/2452/10002/-1

You also need air cleaner and starter. Not sure if the clutch parts just bolt on or not. But this will get you started. I know there is a smaller gear-reduction starter from a later model that is usually recommended, but I don't know the number off-hand. You also need a new exhaust system.

Note that even with this base crate engine, with all the extras you are in the 2500-3000 range all said and done.

[Bigstevex4]

Ime betting the fly wheel belle housing will work I put a 250 six out of 68 camero i wrecked (yes that sucked) in a 65 chevy panel with a lunched 396 it all swaped right over. Wrecked Panel also (Yes that sucked too) Would put a new clutch in.

[rich weyand]

Originally Posted by xole

I am happy with the GM Goodwrench 350 I put in my '86 K10 w/sm465. If you are like me you will also spend some of your budget on "while you are in there" things.

Also, lessons learned....don't use tall valve covers (if you are adding bling) and truck headers may cause you to have to get creative on some braketry.

Hey xole, looking at your picture, it jumped out at me that you are running the vacuum advance on ported vacuum ("timed vacuum"). If you switch the vacuum advance to the manifold vacuum port on the other side of the PCV port and lean out the idle mixture, you will get better gas mileage, a smoother idle, and a stronger off-idle throttle response. That ported vacuum is 1968 pollution control mandate nonsense.

Just sayin'.

See Edelbrock manual for vacuum ports designations. Note "non-emissions" vacuum advance port.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by rich weyand

Note that since you have nothing for a 350, there's a bunch of other stuff that you will need, and so that needs to be figured into your costs to come in on budget. Here's my recommendations for the basics for what they're worth.

Man, I was really hoping you would include P/Ns for alternator and PS pump brackets.

Also, I have a pair of "engine side" motor mount brackets, but I'm still not sure if the frame brackets are different for a V8. I've heard everything from they're the same, to they're both different, to only one is different. A buddy of mine has a foam mock-up small block, so at least I have a simple way to find out for sure.

Same with my TH350 trans. From what I understand it should bolt right up to the existing cross member for the Saginaw 3-speed manual trans, but I'm not sure of that.

[rich weyand]

Yeah, the extra stuff is things like the accessory brackets, throttle cable bracket, the engine mounts, the fan, the water pump, the distributor....

[MikeB]

Some low-cost options to the parts Rich suggested:

Keep the stock cam. It's just fine for cruising, driving in the mountains, etc. If you do plan to change the cam, keep in mind it's a royal PITA to remove the valve covers, timing cover, and oil pan from a Goodwrench 350. GM uses a type of hardening gasket sealer that is a bear to remove. I've never seen anything like it.

Use a Holley/Weiand 8120 intake manifold. It's on close-out here because Holley changed its name to "Street Warrior": http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weiand-8120-...item53f9e95a3e

Use a Holley 80457 carburetor. Can't beat the price below + free shipping. I bought one that looks like it was never even installed. FYI, the SA suffix means aluminum, which is what you want. S means "shiny", which is coated zinc that will turn gray. BTW, the guys at the store are awesome.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Holley-0-804...item418af91a00

Originally Posted by Bigstevex4

I'm betting the flywheel & bell housing will work.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right.

[rich weyand]

Holley is a great racing carb. I would stick with the Qjet for the street.

Also, the nice thing about SMI carbs is that Sean will tune the carb to your setup, because he has all his notes of what air bleeds, etc. are needed for what engine setup. That means you won't have the carb tuning problems that others have reported on the forums for Qjet, Holley or Edelbrock carbs. You will be set up correctly right out of the box, which isn't true of anything else.

[Bigstevex4]

Thats one realy cool things about gm is swapping stuff is ushaly not to difficult. Ya should have the Money couple months give me time to figure out what i want and source all i need. Thanks for suggeations the hard part is keeping it simple.I had and old CJ 1960 with a 327 i had a 4 speed sagainaw well hell get rid eng adapter bolt tran right up just need an adapter for BW transfer case. Bet i had 2 grand in that mess before i was done.

[rich weyand]

Keeping it simple, then keep the stock cam like MikeB says. That will also keep the 3-year warranty intact on that engine. BTW, that engine was $100 more last month, so the price varies around. This is about the lowest I've seen it in the last five years.

Also keeping it simple, get the pre-set-up Qjet from Sean. To the price of any other carb you have to add the price of a good AF/R meter (about $300) so you can tune a stock-out-of-the-box carb to the numbers. But Sean knows what he's doing setting up Qjets to specific engine configurations. There's a wait for an SMI carb, because he will ask you what you are running -- engine, manifold, cam, exhaust system -- and then tune it specifically to your setup. It's not just off-the-shelf.

[Bigstevex4]

Originally Posted by joe231

If you are patient and frugal you could do a 5.3LS for your $2500 budget...
Better mileage and power than a carb'd 350

Had a 99 Z71 with 5.3 put in a Kn and cat back exhaust man that thing ran good.
got like 17mpg. being the Genius i am one Saterday drinking went up to big GMC dealer by my house they had a bunch pickups hail damage fixed them. Traded for A 2002 LS 2500 HD leather exteded cab with 8.1 allison. Nice pickup but man hard on gas. never got 12 mpg like 7 around town couldnt keep foot out of it of corse. only had like 29,000 on the 99.

[xole]

Originally Posted by rich weyand

Hey xole, looking at your picture, it jumped out at me that you are running the vacuum advance on ported vacuum ("timed vacuum"). If you switch the vacuum advance to the manifold vacuum port on the other side of the PCV port and lean out the idle mixture, you will get better gas mileage, a smoother idle, and a stronger off-idle throttle response. That ported vacuum is 1968 pollution control mandate nonsense.

Just sayin'.

See Edelbrock manual for vacuum ports designations. Note "non-emissions" vacuum advance port.

Thanks will take a look!
-David

[Bigstevex4]

Ok reality check again so ime thinking well a stock 454 how much more can that be. Alot more. See a complete one on craigs list for $1400 thinks lost cam bearing. Or Rod main ime wondering. waiting email back. See if it turns over. of corse its on the other side of the state. Just checking think the crate small block is best.