1975 K10 Engine Replacement ??????

[ryno]

Hi all, my 11 year old Son found a truck that if he puts in some sweat and blood will be ready to take to school in a few years. It has what is probably the original 190hp 350 2 bolt motor that barley made it home when we bought it. I would like to put in a 4 bolt, fuel injected 350 with 350-400hp.
It wont be pulling much, more of a daily driver than a mud bogger or rock crawler. It has the stock 4 speed manual trans.
What is the right motor to go with if we want to spend no more than $4,000.00 for the motor, water pump, injection system, and wiring.
what do y'all think is the best bang for the buck??

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I think that the best bang for the buck are the Goodwrench engines topped by a simple TBI, although using a carb frees up a ton of budget.

Also, having 210 hp and just telling everyone you have 400 hp is pretty cheap.

 

[The88]

^^^ Roger that. I would think for a starter truck there is nothing wrong with a little less power. Unless if you want him draggin his buddies.

 

[rich weyand]

Pretty easy to get 300hp and 400ftlbs out of a stock Goodwrench 350/260 with a cam change to a Comp Cams 12-235-2 or 12-231-2 cam. And that will be compatible (just) with your current drivetrain.

You go 350-400 hp through the stock drivetrain and suspension and you will tear it apart. And you can't update all of that for your budget.

Besides, torque is what you drive anyway in a street vehicle. High hp up top, low torque down low is not a good choice for a street engine, and especially not in a truck.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

People thought these thing's were rocket's stock with bolt ons lol, pretty much anything fresh is a huge improvement anyway.

 

[87ChevyR10]

Hey, these trucks aren't all bad. It'll give the Ford and Dodge guys a run for their money. I know, I've raced a few of them.

Had a Ford F-150 similar in year to my truck who wanted to race. He kept up, but still lost and that was before the original dizzy was replaced and the long tube header setup installed.

I scratch my head sometimes about how these trucks, with low HP engines, are able to do so much. Heck, I've got a bald spot for the V6 trucks. Shoot, 2 weekends ago, I hauled 2 loads of rock and pavers (about 1000 to 1500 pounds) with my 1/2 ton. Sure, it was sluggish, but man did the engine sound good!

So yeah, you don't need lots of HP to make your ride run like a gutless pig.

 

[ryno]

Okay have some more cash to throw at this thing. The truck has the stock 4 speed manual transmission and we want to upgrade the drivetrain to go with a 350 hp motor. This is a driver, not a hill climber. I want to do this once and not have to Mickey Mouse with repairs once the motor is installed.
We are planning on going with the turn key crate motor
http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/small-block-350-ho.html

Fuel injection would have been nice but I couldn't find a good setup to go with.

 

[yevgenievich]

http://fitechefi.com/default.asp.pg-GoStreetEFI