What year is the truck, and do you think it's got an original, correct-year engine? If so, it would be worth keeping it, and doing whatever rebuilding is necessary to make it reliable. I believe all the 216's had cast iron pistons, right? I remember putting spring steel "expanders" inside the piston skirts to minimize piston slap when doing in-frame rebuilds. During a complete overhaul including a rebore and new pistons, I'd suggest an upgrade to aluminum-alloy pistons if they're available. Those heavy cast iron slugs were rough on babbit rods! Converting to insert bearings involves a bit of machining on the rods, but once it's done, you'll have no more problems with shims! Fitting Babbit rod bearings with a scraper and Prussian Blue, and then setting the oil clearance with shims can be a real PITA!
Jerry
