crate motor for an old truck or...

[look 171]

Last week an old friend and I drove out to New Mexico to haul his wife's grand father's late 50s Chevy barn truck back home for him to play with. It has a flat bed frame and most of the items on it are intact with a lot of surface rust.

This will be a driver, no shiny high end restoration. I will mill the deck boards in my shop.

Question for you boys are, crate motor and tranny or do you suggest a junk yard motor and a typical Turbo 400 trans which I like due to my bias of owning one that never failed on me. I think modern (EFI) is the way to go? I don't know enough about these older American trucks but like my 72 GM one ton, its pretty simple and basic.

Truck is straight, with few dents on the cab.

[asphaltgambler]

Lot's of of possibilities here. Done (happily) this rodeo all my life and have learned a few things, So I'll ask questions important for a proper reply / advice.

1) What engine and trans are in it now?
2) 1/2 or 3/4 ton?
3) What is the current condition - (we'd all like to see a few pics for reference)
4) What do you plan to do with after it is completed?
5) What is your skill level?
6) How much of your own time are you dedicating to see it through?
7 Last and most important - what is your @budget?

BTW, this is a big part of my business classic-vehicle fee basis consulting.

Standing by..................................

[BK911]

Crate engine.
Vroom vroom.

[masraum]

Paging Glenn! Glenn's "truck" is a little different, but not that much different.
Yep, crate motor. Don't go crazy on the crate motor to maintain low end torque (best for a truck).

EFI seems like a good plan to me.

[drkshdw]

I may be in the minority but I'd do junkyard motor to get it running and driving. Later on if he still drives it and likes it, then put the money into it.

[GH85Carrera]

EFI for sure!

To start in hot or cold weather, and just go when the light turns green and not hesitate and stumble is wonderful. I bought a GM Goodwrench 350 with a two year or 24,000 mile warranty delivered to my door for $1,700. It is the base simple engine. No tire smoking monster, but I just wanted daily driveability.

You will need to determine just what will fit with the least effort. My 350 dropped in place of the old 300,000 mile 305, and I just swapped over the intake, water pump, alternator, starter, and such. I did change my exhaust only because I wanted dual exhaust but I could have just bolted the old system up.

My El Camino came with a pitiful metric 200 three speed transmission. I swapped in a 2004R long ago, with a lockup so it is like a 4 speed and I changed the rear end to a better ratio and a limited slip.

So first determine what will fit with the least effort. What engine is the same physical size, and what transmission will fit without a lot of effort. Look at the budget, and have fun!

[Arizona_928]

See what the current powertrain is in it currently.


Might be easier and cheaper to get it going as is. Ie if the engine isn't frozen and just needs a carb and tune up.

Engine swap i would do fuel injection (tbi/holly sniper fi kit) if i was gonna dump money into it.

Caveat. If it's rusted to schit, or extremely abused. There's 2 category of farm trucks. Maintained and done anything and everything to get it to run... then ran hard.

4x4 would be limiting factor. If you want a stret rod or something that has utility.

[masraum]

There used to be a 290hp 350 which was pretty basic, but that seems to be discontinued now. Or maybe not common online.

There are also options with carbs or EFI already on. There are also options that are "turn key."

Chevrolet Performance's line of Street Performance engines offers great power at a great value – and the latest is the SP350/357. It leverages the strength of a strong rotating assembly secured in a brand-new block with four-bolt mains, and matches it with modern valvetrain technology to support great high-rpm capability.

Economical Vortec iron cylinder heads deliver excellent airflow, while the latest intake manifold technology and a new hydraulic roller camshaft optimize airflow to push 357 horsepower and more than 400 lb.-ft. of torque! Better still, the engine is built with a durable rotating assembly set in a brand-new block with four-bolt mains. That's a feature you won’t find on most rebuildable cores.

This SP350/357 Turn-Key package comes complete with the distributor, carburetor and balancer installed. The starter, fuel pump, air conditioning pump, alternator, front-end accessory drive kit and more are also included, but not installed for shipment purposes.

They even have "connect and cruise" options (a lot more expensive) that are motor and trans (manual or auto) including the EFI and the controllers for the engine and trans. But they are not "turn key," so you have to provide all of the externals.

Originally Posted by drkshdw

I may be in the minority but I'd do junkyard motor to get it running and driving. Later on if he still drives it and likes it, then put the money into it.

The only problem with that plan is that once it's together and working, I suspect, most folks will never swap in a crate motor.

[JackDidley]

A guy can do a 5.3 LS swap for very little money. It is not that difficult. If not that just leave it stock. I do like the 400 turbo though.

[Seahawk]

A friend of mine owns and runs this website: https://www.stovebolt.com/

I am sure there is a lot of discussion on this very issue!

I can tell you I have driven in some parades with his trucks and the trucks with more modern underpinnings are a lot more enjoyable to drive.

[LWJ]

A contrarian view? I borrowed my FIL’s 54ish GMC with a 235 and granny 4 speed this summer. It was a joy to drive. Pretty simple stuff on a 235.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by LWJ

A contrarian view? I borrowed my FIL’s 54ish GMC with a 235 and granny 4 speed this summer. It was a joy to drive. Pretty simple stuff on a 235.

I honestly don't think he can go wrong going in either direction. Should be a lot of fun, especially given the family connection.

[Scott Douglas]

This would be the perfect truck to do a Roadkill get it running as cheaply as you can on. If things are 'intact' under the hood, put a good battery in it, check to see if it has a spark, get gas flowing to the carb and give it a crank to see what happens. If it 'ran when parked' then there's a pretty good chance it'll fire right up.

We really need to know what year this truck is.

[RANDY P]

EFI, and stick with a GM crate- and a basic crate is actually cheaper in many cases VS. some aftermarket crate engine slapped together by who knows.

Last I checked, GM also warranties the engine through dealership service.

[911 Rod]

It's all about budget.

[rusnak]

Crate motor for sure. My 7.4L GM is just fantastic. Love the throttle body injection. Simple and reliable.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

It's all about budget.

Absolutely!

Budget, and goal for the truck.

Do you want it to be hot (powerful/fast)?
Do you want it to be able to be a daily driver that's reliable and trouble free?
Do you want to enjoy the process of the project more than the finished product? (there are a lot of folks that seem to enjoy the project more than the finished product. I've never understood that, but different strokes...)

[A930Rocket]

Every time Glenn mentions he got a crate motor for $1700 bucks, i’m thinking motor swap for my 330. I do a Google search and can’t find anything for less than $5000! lol

[look 171]

I know 1700 bucks was so 35 years ago?

[look 171]

OK, you guys sound like you are much more excited then my friend. This aint my truck.

59 chevy 1/2 ton
no engine or transmission
No seat, steering wheel and a couple of gauges are still intact
No bed, but rotten flat bed
No brakes, gone, maybe brake lining still there
Its been sitting for over 40 years out in the element in NM Surface rust throughout
No accidents

My friend wants a reliable truck he can go to Home Depot and more then anything else, a truck to drive from a-b. Don't need globs of tq, or hp, just a simple truck. He doesn't care about speed.