Thanks Barnfind; Yup I'm glad too
It's still fun to drive.
I have a 4.3 V6 here (well, and a variety of v8's but the 4.3 just seems appealing for this) and budget may well dictate that's the route I go. Not too many 235's around up here, not without going to a lot of trouble to discover they might not be any better. Freight would be a killer for any decent or reman one. There is also only one machine shop left in town now and at least a years' wait, so really - that's not an option.
Having swapped plenty of 4.3 and SBC's into different vehicles (pre-internet, man this internet sure changes things! ) I know that's actually a SBC swap (engine mounts are in the same place, same bellhousing works, you can use the same starters, flywheels etc etc), so if I want to go 350 later - so the legwork's done. I want to appreciate the OEM 4 speed and 4:57 too, and the 4.3 should be a good balance there. The SM420 is kind of legendary I don't see any reason to change.
