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We have two trucks we are building in the shop right now that had 350 Chevy engines that never made it out the door. The one in the 49 Studebaker even had the exhaust completed but both owners said to pull the sbc engine and replace it with an LS. The 350 in the 1950 3100 had never been fired up. Also a 70 Blazer, 34 Ford pickup, and 34 Chevy Master 5w coupe are getting LS engines to start with.

Hope they have AAA. I like 350s because I can troubleshoot them in the field. Great for me, but the kind of guy who has the kind of money to pay for one of your sweet rides probably cannot, so he might as well go for the gusto.
That seems to be the trend that I see these days.
Carl

I have some young guys around me that have never worked on an engine that had a distributor. Today's tech is just moving to fast for me.

AMEN....Carl.
The panel wouldn't start one day...so I replaced the ignition module and moved on down the road. No problem man!

Simplicity and roadside repairability were the goals of my build. If I wanted to chase fads I probably wouldn't be driving a 1951 panel truck. Seen enough Check Engine lights in my life, requiring a technician with advanced diagnostic equipment. Seen enough jam-packed engine compartments you can't even reach into for all the appurtenances. You gotta decide if you want an old truck, or if you want a Lexus that just looks like an old truck.

Ditto to that. Our trucks are simple enough that one man can encompass their workings in his head. My 2017 Caddy ATS-V daily driver? Not so much. I purchased the service manual for it, all 9,289 pages and more specialized tools needed than I can count. I'm leaving the work on that baby to the dealer while I concentrate on the trucks.

I have a 2017 Buick Encore and at least that put the battery where you can find it. The car before was a GMC Terrain and you could not see it , it was under the control module. The worst was when I worked at Auto Zone and had to replace a battery in a Cadillac and it was under the back seat and company policy was not to do it but based on the age of the customer, old person, we might do it.

You hit the nail on the head regarding young people, the young man that dials in the the LS and Ford Modular engines/trans on a laptop for us spotted a Quadrajet carburetor on the desk and was fascinated with it. After rolling it around to check from every angle he gave me a puzzled look and asked, "how did it work without any electrical wires?" If they were on the side of the road with carb or distributor problems then THEY would have to call AAA. New bunch riding over the horizon.

Makes you wonder what a Tri Power on a 409 would make him think

Kinda glad I can navigate both worlds.

A few years ago the 1970 VW that my daughter and I restored quit running. Turned out it was a combination of hot weather and a length of rubber fuel line that was too long, causing vapor lock. let it cool down and I was back in business. Later that day I mentioned the vapor lock problem to the young guy at the parts store, who had never heard of such a thing!
Glad I didn't have to call for roadside help, I'm sure they never would have figured it out.

And my current vehicle, a 2009 Chevy Colorado, had problems with the ABS system, and the only way to fix it, according to the local Chevy dealer, was to replace parts until the problem went away. $400 for a new wheel sensor, $400 for a new hub, $800 for a new control module. I fixed it by pulling the fuse for the ABS system, now it runs fine, just no ABS. I told them that I'd been driving for 45 years without ABS and hadn't had an accident yet, so I could probably manage.

Tim

You need to find a new dealer!

My only hope is that a good number of them apply themselves to learn how to be Johnny on the spot for the new, complicated engines and give me hope for the new generation of this hobby..

This is similar to the trend many years ago when the trend was from Ford flatheads to SBC. A lot of us hung on to the flatheads but finally caved in to the new o-head valves.
That is what will eventually happen.
George

Exactly, it took some people a bit of time to move away from the Flathead, but most never looked back!
The LS engine are the way to go when doing big work on a truck or car: they are reliable, give better mileage, always start in any weather. Unless one has a special reason, why bother with the old style SBC, really?

Dollar Signs $$$$ thats why... Just finished building a 5.3L LS for my 05' Yukon, about 4K total with parts and machining. I didn't do anything exotic just new parts and going 0.30 over. I have around $1800.00 in my 327 and it's built.

Where is the love for the 292?

The 292 was built for a friend's 50' 3100. I loved putting it together and will admit it was costly with all he wanted done, I would have just built a torque motor and been VERY happy. The 292 is a power house and built for HP, less top end and more mid to low end power would have been a better choice. The 327 is for my 59', the truck had already been converted to a V8 (not very well though). I had the engine and trans prior to buying the truck so it just came down to money. Had the 59' still had a six I would have kept it that way.

The guys that are running 292's in the 800-1000 HP range say they shift at between 4500 and 4800 RPM.

Like a pro mechanic friend of mine says: "They're nice...when they work." One sensor fails on a road trip and you're getting towed to the shop.

I have actually found analog engines to be more reliable due to their simplicity. If they quit you check fuel and spark - that's it, not a myriad of wires and sensors.

One look at the respective wiring harnesses for each type of motor will tell you all you need to know.

I love what some of these guys are doing with the inline six, no doubt that power can be made. As with most of these engine they are very exotic, the key is getting it to breathe. Most use a highly modified or a hybrid aftermarket head and some turbo or blower configuration... Growing up my Father had a friend that ran a 300 inch Ford on alcohol in an altered Anglia, very competitive... I just did't think that a street driven 50' PU owned by a 20 year old needed all that.

"Modern" technology is, and always has been, temporary. Today's technology will be obsolete by 2030 when, due to PC, gasoline will be banned.

Those who can still afford the real estate to park one will have an electric vehicle.

Anyone wish to buy a carburetor shop?

Jon.

Not to worry Jon. There will be plenty of rebels thwarting change. As the current vehicles with all of the wires, computers and sensors become obsolete and parts become hard/impossible to find, guys like us will revert back to simpler designs and keep on keepin' on.
We don't need no stinkin' gas to run our stuff. We can make alcohol. The drivin' and drinkin' kind.

I have seen a lot of LS motors with intake and carbs swapped , seems to make real power you need to go old.

Ironically the trend is to make LS motors look old.

I'm running a 12 port cross flow head and a 4-71 blower. I will be limiting myself to 750 HP because I have been told at 800 HP on a stock mains the crankshaft leaves the building.

Pretty sure LS motors would be ridiculed off the HAMB.

Im 35. Ive been on both sides of the fence working with distributors and carbs on everything sbc/bbc’s included and 80’s computer tech (or lack there of) on chrysler turbo cars. I use a turbo LS platform in my race/drift car and honestly it was totally foreign to me the first time doing it but i can honestly say its the easiest most modular setup there is. If you can trust a normal 2000’s silverado to drive around anywhere (as most owners do. My dad included) then you can trust whatever you put that engine in will do the same. I understand its not for everyone but ive converted a few gentlemen in their late 60’s and they said they wont go back to a carb or distributor unless it was desperate times. The 4.8/5.3/6.0/6.2 based engines are just great. They need very little wiring to run and they never really leak oil or give problems. Im sure some will but they are a known well performing and dependable setup. Ive taken apart probably 20 and ive never replaced any bearings or even a oil pan gasket. Usually lifters and a cam kit and then add some boost and smack that thing between the frame rails of anything and enjoy 600/700/800hp on pump gas and drive it to get groceries. My 49 gmc has a bone stock 2001 5.3 litre with 140k on it and its a no nonsense turn key and run the same everyday setup. I would drive it across country tomorrow without ever even worrying about anything going wrong under the hood.....and if something did happen to act up literally any parts store will have alt/starter/pumps or whatever to fix it. My main thing i tell the older generation is why not try something different? Are you afraid you might like it? Most are set in their ways but some try it and love it and agree it was a great idea. Sorry for the rambletron but thats just my 2 cents on that.

I got rid of the distributor on my blown 292 but I'm keeping my 3 Roch 2 bbl carbs. They make better power anyway. IMHO. Plus chicks dig it.

Hairy, oddly tatooed, with black lipstick chicks?
They all need lovin', I guess.

Ha ha, by the third page these threads get as rank as a tuna sandwich by it's third day out!