Ridgeview and Starkweatherr,
I would also chime in with my support of the 4.3 V-6. Great engine!
To that I would add, don't overlook Marine/boat dealers/scrap yards etc. when looking for applicable parts. There are alot of these 4.3 that are, or have been used in boats.
Besides another possible parts source, most of these units will provide you with the power plant w/out the additional automotive computer stuff.
They use both, a carb and TBI set-up on the marine applications.
Don't know how the horsepower translates, but the ratings of the marine engines are 190 HP for the carb, and 215 for the TBI.
Lastly, as others have stated, they're very economical to run. I can run my boat hard for at least 2-weekends on one tank of gas.
