The donor transmission has a working V6 already attached, and as a last resort I can transplant the cooling and fuel systems and computer box from the 96 chev. That's just gonna be a few extra weeks (months) of plumbing and wiring. Sourcing a rebuilt inline long-block would have made the engine and driveline an affordable job, and would minimize the time I'm without transportation. I was beyond disappointed when Summit cancelled my purchase, they can no longer find inline cores. That's why I am doggedly pursuing every
rumour of inline long blocks for sale.
I'm definitely going to be asking after Ed's 302 as soon as I get my dinero back from Summit. I saw no evidence of Hecho En Mexico inlines sold through tractor suppliers, and the marine vendors only do
heads, pumps and covers for the 250. No cores available.
The advantage to the 4.3L would be power everything and AC. If I can't source a "new" block, I will end up with a small budget to rent work space, bypassing the parking lot issue. The engine has around 130K on the odo and I'd be doubling the mass it's dragging, so it'll wear out pretty soon as well. Subsequent swaps would be easier, crate 4.3L V6 are still sold via mail-order. But then again, so were re-manufactured inlines just a year ago.
