The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop engine decisions

Hey there folks. I've been reading the archives for a week or two this place is a goldmine.

I've learned a lot but my situation is at a fork in the road, I'm hoping for some more knowledgeable opinions on some things.

Building a frame off restified AD, muttly lineage but the frame is a 48, panels, cab, bed and drive line are scrounged from assorted ADs. I was gifted with a 73 250 that in teardown looks to be in good shape and was happy with that. It needs new intake manifold and headers, carb starter, coil etc. I was happy with that, I have a thing for L6s. I knew I'd need a transmission and rearend with the 250 and that was fine since I had no 216 or 235 and $0 is a good price. Now I have a chance to get a Pontiac 350 V8 with a 4 speed transmission on the cheap (~$150) from a friend. I don't know much about the motor and trans yet but it might need a rebuild. The bent 8 is complete with manifold, headers and a Holley carb; plus the four speed manual transmission.

What I need is an unbiased opinion. I want the 6 but feel the 8 may be the way I should go. I'm putting in a MustangII IFS because I want disc breaks and the cost increase for kits between just disc upgrades and disc w/ IFS was close enough for me to say OK.
My needs for the truck as it's being worked on and when it's done:
1. Reliability - daily driver when done it's going to drive to Alaska from northern Illinois
2. Cost- so far I have no cash invested and need to keep my final cost as low as I can
3. the ability to still be a truck- this will mostly be a cruiser but I want to occasionally load the bed with lumber, bricks, dirt, whatever. I know my rearend choice will have an effect here just as much as what's up front but.
4. mileage- I hope to get mileage closer to 20mpg than 10, but if I have to sacrifice one of the 4 this would be it.

Sorry for the HUGE post but when I get a lot on my mind it tends to come out all at once. I'm new to this, but have a friend helping and he has restored a few vettes but he's not a lot of help with the truck- Anything you folks have to say will be appreciated- even if it's just not to type so much :o

Claymore: Welcome!! The choice will have to be yours in the end. But, heres my thoughts. 1. 350 4/speed thats scary, thinking problay been wound to tight, tires smoking, shifted hard you are problay right in the rebuild. Cost Money.
You said you like the L6's 250 a good motor sounds as the project has some cost restraints, but you are headed in right direction. Don't get me wrong I love the 350's they are my favorite motor so much can be done with them. The front clip is good if you have time and knowledge, i left mine straight with (soon) power disc add on.
Trip to Alaska sounds interesting also?? popcorn The Truth is Out There (Good luck keep us posted)

I have had several 250's, now have a 235 and a 350, my first v-8 in 30 years.

Both engines are highly reliable. Cost will probably be close to the same if you go with a 4 bbl, intake & headers for the 250, or buy the 350 and have to rebuild it, doing the work yourself. Truckability will be the same, but the six is different and cooler. Milage, with the proper gearing will lean to the 250, but you trade power for milage.

However, what will make the difference is the trip to Alaska. You will be able to make it with the 250, but when you gear it for milage you will struggle up the mountains. This one point would lead me to go with the 350, even as much as I love the six. I still remember our first vacation with our brand new 64. It had the 230 and 3 speed. Think it had 3.90 gears. We had a topper and a teardrop trailer, and dad went over Wolf Creek pass at 40 mph in second gear with what seemed like a mile of vehicles behind us.

Claymore,

We are putting a 350 in our 55 1/2 ton with a 350 tranny with shift kit. For now we will be staying with the 3.9 rear gear.

I am interested in hearing what you found that made the disc brake upgrade close to a disc with IFS.

thanks

Thanks for the comments so far everyone.

ChevyGirl- I have a very kind Father-in-Law who said he'd pay for half of a no-frills set from Heidt's. I think it has more to do with his daughter being in the truck than my charming personality . So when you cut an IFS bill in half it really is close enough to a disc brake conversion to be worth my $$$

Mine is actually 1 of 3 trucks we're building as a team project. 3 different budgets mine is the low budget (5-7k) my father-in-laws is mid budget and our friends is all out (the man is buying a rolling chasis-but he likes to cheat :p )

Hey, sounds like a cool project.

Is that 350 a GM corporate motor or a for-real pontiac motor? GM/Chevy 350s are common, using them has been well documented. The Pontiac 350 is a totally different animal than a chevy 350. Pontiac 350 was built between '68-78. Uses BOP bellhousing bolt pattern, different motor mounts, etc. Where the chevy 350 is a higher RPM HP engine, a Pontiac 350 is a torque motor that redlines at 5,200 RPM or so.

The Pontiac 350s are great engines, I race one in a '67 LeMans. But if going Pontiac, just know they are MUCH more expensive to build than chevy. Good side is that if you set up for a Pontiac 350, a 389 to 455 will bolt right in place. All pontiac engines weigh the same and are the same outward physical dimensions.

good luck

chip

I've been told it's an honest to goodness Pontiac 350. I'm going to give it a good going over this weekend to remove all doubt about that. I knew the Pontiacs had different bolt patterns but that's all I knew. Even if I decide to not use the 350 I'll be getting a 600cfm Holley 4-barrel that my father in law has already said he'd buy for the cost of the motor so it could wind up as a no-loss at worst for me.

Claymore: 600cfm plenty big with out going into performance change, we run 600 ElBrock on every we own except race car, and my 350 sitting in corner. popcorn The Truth is Out There (You keep your wife Can I have your father-in-law)

Hey Popcorn- you can only have my father in law if you take my mother in law with him- and I'm not sure I could do that with a clean conscience.

I'm only keeping the carb if it's economical to work with/rebuild the motor. If it's gonna be too pricey to rebuild and (depending on the what's on there) get a new tranny for the 350 there's a good chance it will wind up at a swapmeet and my father in law will get the carb on the relative cheap. Sorry bout the bad pun there.

PONTIAC ENGINES ARE TOTALY DIFFERENT, THE ONLY PARTS THAT INTERCHANGE BETWEEN A PONTIAC AND CHEVROLET IS THE CARBURATOR, DISTRIBUTER CAP, ROTOR, AND ADVANCE WEIGHTS (AND THOSE ARE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN COMPARED TO A CHEVROLET). I'M GOING TO THE MACHINE SHOP THIS WEEKEND TO PICK UP MY PONTIAC 400 PARTS..... TOAL BILL TO DATE - 800 FOR PARTS - 700 FOR MACHINE WORK - ETC. ETC. ETC. THE MACHINE WORK PRICES ARE VERY COMPARABLE FOR JUST ABOUT ANY ENGINE, IT IS THE PRICE OF THE PARTS THAT CAN VARY. LASTLY - 350 PONTIACS ARE ALMOST CONSIDERED RARE (NOT MANY LEFT)

Hey stu

what poncho heads are you running? Whats it going into?

chip

1977 pontiac 400 w/6x-8 heads

milled heads and decked block to achive a compression rationof approx. 9:1

the engine will be going into my garage first, then after that I have no idea.

if I was to ever "repair" the 1950 I think I would install it in there.

Hey, Claymore

I've got a 350 Chevy w/TH350 trans and a Chevy 12-bolt rear (turning only 2000rpm at 70 mph) ... I put an Edelbrock Performer 600 4bbl on (it had an Edelbrock performer intake and mild hyd cam), 15" wheels in the rear, 14" in the front, and I'm getting about 16 mpg. I LOVE the Edelbrock carb!

Enjoy your project, man!

horvath, that is perhaps some of the best news I've gotten today; I think I could live with those sort of numbers- though it is only 6:30 a.m. so...

Get to check out the motor and tranny myself today, try and get as much off it as I can. Thanks for all the encouragement and information. You guys, and ladies, are great.