So, I'm trying to either embrace or resist a motor change in my truck. A quick history on the truck is. I bought it somewhat restored 25 years ago or so. It had a new or rebuilt one piece rear main seal 350 in it. It is a short bed 4x4 with 33's and 373 gears (those won't change) and a 350 turbo transmission. I drove the truck for about ten years and then sold it when I got married. Then ten years later, my wife tracked it down and we bought it back as a 10 year wedding anniversary present. During the time that the previous owner had it. He rebuilt the engine (recently). He was friends with a guy who drag races. They had the blocked checked and the bore was good, straight, and didn't need boring. They put higher compression pistons in it, different cast iron heads by World Products, a cam (of unknows specs) Holley intake and carb. The only thing I did to it was change from the 750 double pumper he had on it to a 670 Street Avenger. He went on about how great the motor was and who built it. When I drove it home it really ran great and had good power, so I decided not to touch it. The truck was so rough though at this time, and I was so happy to get my truck back, that I probably wasn't really judging thing correctly.
So getting caught up to current. Last year, I finally finished the truck (I know they are never really finished, but I could now drive it). The motor seems just okay. It has decent power, idles like a hopped up Harley (sounds cool), but is very low on vacuum. My power brakes are horrible. I've done everything seemingly possible to tune it to give me the best vacuum I can get but if memory serves me correctly it is only around 10 inches of vacuum at idle.
So.... I'm debating either swapping the motor for a 383 stroker or doing something with the one I have now. I'm sure I need torque at low rpm more than I need horsepower at high rpm. I've always wanted a stroker, but the prices are kind of scaring me. I really like this GM crate stroker
http://www.chevrolet.com/performance...nes/sp383.html
but it is around $7000. I thought about a Blue Print motor like this from Summit,
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/m...3ct1/overview/
but I hear bad things about Blue Print.
I suppose I could send my block and have it prepped for one, but would rather not do a complete rebuild.
Other options would be to just recam my 350 but I don't really know which to go with. How big can I go and still have decent power brakes? What kind of power could I expect to be able to get from a 350. I've read that my heads are decent heads, but nothing really spectacular. Supposedly comparable to the old GM camel hump heads. My luck with junk yards is not good, so if replacing the heads is essential then I'd look for something available new and they would have to be compatible with my headers that are new Headman Longtube.
I definitely will be staying with a small block. Nothing against the LS swaps, I know those motors make awesome power, but I'm sticking with a small block in this truck. I feel like my best options are between a new cam and possibly new heads, or swapping in a 383.
I think it all comes down to will I be happy with a 350 if I go with the right cam or should I hold off for the 383. I'd love to hear some feedback on this. Remember though.... this is a 4x4 with 33's and 373 gears. I assume what works great for a lowered 2 wheel drive will not necessarily work great for me. So, I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has put together a power plant for a similar truck. Thanks for reading such a LONGGGGG post.
Brian