86 Sierra Classic. Bad Block... Now what?

[SquareUp]

So broke down the motor this evening... I have bad valve guides on the head. and a scored cylinder wall and wear on the block.. Looking at a crate motor.. however.. I am not sure which route to go..

Motor will be sitting in front of a TH350. Stock. Looking for some direction. Everyday driver.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

If you need a run of the mill 350 that you don’t really plan to soup up, and you’re not expecting a power monster out of, a Goodwrench 350 would probably be the best long block route. I might get a performance short block, rebuild and upgrade or just upgrade the heads, and rebuild it up from there so it would have some kick to it.

 

[SquareUp]

I can get my hands on an LT-1 with a 4160e transmission. Wiring harness and ecu

Will this bolt up to my transfer case? I know a lot of guys are doing LS swaps..

If I do the crate motor, does anyone have any suggestions on where to go? Seems to be a lot of options out there

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Can’t speak to the t-case, but I’m not sure if I’d do the Gen II. If I could build it my way, I’d do it before doing the Gen III, but I’m still far and beyond partial to the SBC/BBC. What I mean by building it my way is either doing a distributor and chunking the Optispark while still keeping it OBD I or just doing a carb and distributor setup. I wouldn’t want it if my PCM was OBD II or if there was no feasible way to ditch the Optispark. If the modernity doesn’t brother you, you could do an LTCC conversion so the ignition would replicate that of a Gen III. I know things that don’t have distributors aren’t necessarily bad, but I just like the relative simplicity. Maybe @HotRodPC or @bucket can give pointers on mating the transmission and t-case

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Can’t speak to the t-case,

You can, but I hope you don’t expect much in the way of a response.

 

[Snoots]

Take all of that computer controlled trash to the scrapyard and get a big block with a carb.
Let the REAL fun begin!

 

[Paladin]

And make that a Holley carb!

 

[Rusty Nail]

^
Yes.

Dude. You don't want to argue about building a better "WHEEL" with this crowd...
Gen 1 or bust.

Look, I actually like the LT-1 and am WAY MORE partial to that over an "LS" but I wouldn't dream about doing either molestation to a Square Body truck.

'Murica dude, doowutchalike but I don't support that, 'Murica.

An LT-1 might actually be cool though because nobody does it.

The factory compression ratio is pretty high, 10.25:1 ?
Aluminum heads and all...
I can offer a very helpful advice about LT-1s...resist the desire to "EGR delete"- if you use one, leave it alone. That will make your life MUCH easier! Sure you can bore it out or cam it but stop there

Good luck!

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

^
Yes.

Dude. You don't want to argue about building a better "WHEEL" with this crowd...
Gen 1 or bust.

Look, I actually like the LT-1 and am WAY MORE partial to that over an "LS" but I wouldn't dream about doing either molestation to a Square Body truck.

'Murica dude, doowutchalike but I don't support that, 'Murica.

An LT-1 might actually be cool though because nobody does it.

The factory compression ratio is pretty high, 10.25:1 ?
Aluminum heads and all...
I can offer a very helpful advice about LT-1s...resist the desire to "EGR delete"- if you use one, leave it alone. That will make your life MUCH easier! Sure you can bore it out or cam it but stop there

Good luck!

Amen!

 

[SquareUp]

decided against the LT-1.. Trucks clean enough Im either going to bore the original block.. (if I can) or put a crate motor in it. I appreciate the info though..

Now off to performance parts.. Thinking the edlebrock top end kit.. anyone ever play around with one?

 

[4WDKC]

decided against the LT-1.. Trucks clean enough Im either going to bore the original block.. (if I can) or put a crate motor in it. I appreciate the info though..

Now off to performance parts.. Thinking the edlebrock top end kit.. anyone ever play around with one?

do a crate motor but a higher output than stock will help you enjoy it more.

 

[SquareUp]

milling through the massive world of crate motors now...
not 100% sure of what all I'm looking at..

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I don’t think the intake really matters in terms of brand. Edelbrocks are popular and ubiquitous in the market, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do a Holley/Weiand either. Carb choice is simple for me: a Quadrajet. I don’t know about the Edelbrock heads, but there are a lot of brands to choose from including factory heads.

 

[Rusty Nail]

My choice would be to rebuild the original block.

It's a simple recipe to make great power and it's more fun AND rewarding to "repair" than to "replace".

Chances are extremely high that your engine is rebuildable ... if it didn't seize at high RPM.

If it matters I own both Holley and Weiand intakes and pick either of those over an "elderbrok".

 

[rpcraft]

May be worth knowing the LT1 isn't the same as the LS motors and if you have a good stockish small block with a dual plane intake (like a performer rpm airgap), cam similar to an edelbrock performer RPM, and a set of Vortec heads you will probably have a better motor than the LT1 in most regards. You might need to look at some flat top pistons to bump the compression up a little.