Yeah,welcome to the bolt.Hey I was 18 yrs.old about 51 yrs.ago.Another thing to consider is the rearend gearing.you can run just about any engine you want and get good gas mileage if it is geared right.I am running a 350 in my 55,along with a 700R4 tranny and the original 3;90 rearend.Due to the OD tranny ratio it is turning about .78 to 1 to the rear.If I was using a non OD the ratio would be 1 to 1,and I would probably want a 3:08 rear to compensate.My 55 gets 20 MPG all day long ,has great pickup and will cruise at 70 to 80 MPH.So as you can see there are many combinations,to consider.As far as 283s,327s,and 350s there aint a whole lot of difference.The 350s are probably more plentiful.
