The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop This is Not ment as a dumb question!

I don't mean to be an annoyance about this. As some of you know I have an 87 Full size 4X4 pick up with a 700R4 trans and 3.73 gears. Anyhow I pulled the 350 out that ran perfect, got 14 hwy and sold it to a real good friend to replace his 454 hog that gets 8-9 mpg with a 5 speed. Thats really bad! He should get 16-17 with mine. I put in a 250 built quite well but it is way over cammed which the shop put in. Not me! Sucked a lot of gas and low power due to the big cam. So I have the new stock cam for it. I sold this one to my friends son for what I have in it. So no loss there. He is doing a conversion and needed this size engine. I need to have this truck as my daily driver. What would work well enough in this rig without having to drag a gas station behind me yet not be too slow either. I have owned only one 292 and it ran excellent but had low gears. I had all the others. With hwy gears and some decking and milling would it be worth putting in and still get maybe 18 hwy with OD? Some 292s seem to do well with tall gears but forget it on low gears. Just like a 350 then. My other friend is a retired GM mechanic and told me today to go with an Olds 307 not Chevy 307 for a balance of power and mpgs. The Olds 307 run well and bolts up to the tranny. The 307 Chevy was pretty thirsty in the one I rode in. What would you folks in Stovebolt land put it if this was yours. Its in super nice condition. I'm the second owner. My sweet wife wants me to make up my mind asap so she can drive it too. I love the inlines and their unique sound. I'm confused. 305, 327, another 350 set up differently? It used to be a TBI set up now its carb. Any of you own a 292? How does it work for you? Should I have stayed with the 250 but with a stock cam and maybe some headers and two single bbl carbs. I sold the 4 bbl manifold I had with the engine. Please help me on this. Thanks.

I also wanted to mention that I have seen 3 conversions that got better mileage by far than 350s or 454s. These had Cadillac engines in them. One was a 500 and the other two were 472 engines. I may have also seen a 425 in another one? Just a thought, maybe not a bad one. The crew cab went from 11 mpg with the 350 to 17 with the 472. Same tranny and etc. After all they are built and cammed for major torque. One of these conversions was in a 4X4 with a lift kit. Anybody seen one of these conversions. Any other oddities you have seen in Chevy pick up or other brand X ? My brother had a pick up that had a rebuilt Buick 455 in it. Also a 4X4. And one more with a 455 Olds in it. I forgot about that one and these conversions. Just thought of them. I'm very tired from three long days of traveling doing service calls. Am I on to something??? How about some ideas. I know some of you can come up with something interesting or unusual that might work and yet be somewhat efficient.

I don,t suppose you want to hear that you should have left it alone in the first place so I won,t say anything. The 307 olds is very sluggish. The cad & BOP engines are good but won,t bolt up to your trans. I think a 350 chev set up for economy would be as good as anything. It takes a certain amount of power to run these things & putting in a smaller engine just makes it work that much harder.

350

Well Wrenchbender, I know you are right. Went through a lot of work, hassel and $$$. Don't have any more to spend. So when the check comes how should I set up a 350 for mileage. The problem was that the computer that was in there was set up for high altitude and got lousy mileage. Now its toast. Shorted out. Should I have gone with a modest carb and an aluminum manifold or a stock 4 bbl manifold with a spacer plate? I was told by a retired shop machanic and machinist that lives nearby that a Crower Baja Beast cam would make it better running and more economical than even a 305, otherwise just stock would be thirsty. I had a Baja Beast cam that came in a 25' motorhome with a Ford 390 in it and I got from 10-11.5 mpg with that heavy rig. It was a chassis pick up mount. Thats better than most motorhomes get. It had 4.10 gears and a C6 tranny. I think it had a 600 cfm Carter on it before Edelbrock bought them out. I put headers on it and it climbed the hills better than a stock set up did. Yet it idled smooth with no lope to it. Would this work for a 350? Any other suggestions you can make would be a great help. I'll have enough to buy another engine when the check comes in next week. Any hints as what to order from the machine shop. The one I will use this time gives a 7/70 warranty. Can get a 100,000 mile warranty for some extra $$$. Same engine just a longer warranty. 7/70 is just fine. This will be the last engine swap on this rig. You can answer here or email me. I have a set of 8.5mm Red MSD wires and Off Road control box to go with it. Hey Big Chevy 3600, I like your comment. Some truth in it for sure. Oh BTW, The Chevy dealer has a Goodwrench 350, 290 Hp. The counterman, I used to be one as well as a machanic, thought that on the hwy 18 is possible with my truck. What do you know or think about the one I just mentioned????? They sell a ton of them at the dealership. It has the older style manifold bolt pattern which I need. They have a bunch in stock at all times including the HO versions which I don't want. Just thought of that. Maybe the practical thing to do. Which is better? A new a new Goodwrench or a custom built from a machine shop for stock applications? I respect your knowledge and opinion. Some real good people here on this site. Bolters rule!!!

What a lot of confusing detail (for me) .

What a problem, if it were mine , I'd repower it with a diesel.

Just thought I'd better throw that option in for you

I always use the Goodwrench engines myself. You can,t get one built for that price & everything is new & factory built. You would not need the 290 HP. The 260 is the same with a little mileder cam & 2-3 hundred less. You may wan,t to change the cam to one designed for economy. I,m not familiar with the different ones but that Baja Beast sounds like it might be the one. A Q-jet carb on an aluminum intake would get the best mileage once you get it tuned in. If you can,t rebuild one & fine tune it yourself or have a good friend that can, you would be better off with a performer. They are reasonably priced & run good out of the box & are essy to tweek. If you wan,t to save money on an intake the factory aluminum ones on the early 80,s cars are cheap in the salvage yards & swap meets. Stock HEI,s are plentiful too & can be taylored easily.