Picked it up for $300 on Sunday. I've always been a Ford guy, but now that my V6 Explorer is running low 15s on motor, it's getting quite expensive for the little HP gains I'm getting, so I heard this was for sale and jumped on it. The guy who sold it said it wouldn't idle right til it warms up. Well, drove it home, cleaned the IAC, and it idles fine, lol. Anyways, I'm looking at about 3 years to completion, being in college and all I don't have that much free time or cash. Nothing really wrong with the way it runs, lights and gauges don't work (doesn't matter cause I'm gonna do my own gauge setup) and the body panels don't all line up correctly, ie hood won't close all the way, doors won't close all the way, rear hatch isn't perfect. Anyways, my roommate (who may or may not be registered here I haven't asked yet, but he has an LS1) said we can take a 383 6.0 out of a Chevy truck and drop it in, and I'm just curious what all that will entail. I'd like to get forged internals and give it a 100 shot, or higher if it'll take it. I know I want a new motor, drivetrain, rear end (Ford 8.8), etc, but I'm kinda clueless with Chevys. Interior and everything is coming out this weekend, door panels, etc, so I can clean it, and since it's all 17 years old, lol. I'm planning on installing a roll cage, a couple of Corbeau seats, custom gauge panel, etc, and I got all that, but I really just need to know where I'd find the 6.0, costs, etc. Thanks, and without further ado, here's a pic; not bad for $300.

 

from what i see, looks like u got a pretty good deal. youve got some work ahead of you but ur looking in good shape. If i were you, i would buy a chevy 350 small block out of a junkyard. have it bored .030 over, and get a stroker kit for around 700 bucks. keep in mind, its not always that easy, you have to really inspect the black to make sure its solid, and look for four bolt main caps. look into some good heads, if you will be running NOS, get cast iron heads, they will last a whole lot longer. A chevy 350 block that has been freshly been rebuild, and has solid cast iron heads will easily handle a 100 shot of NOS. As for heads, i would prefer getting them with 68-72cc heads, and make sure the pistons are flat tops. that will leave you plenty of room to stuff NOS in there. if you ask more precise questions i can help you out more. if its an automatic, it probably has a 700r4 tranny, along with a 2.73 rear end. these cars were built with strong drivelines, but the 700r4 tranny and 2.73 rear ends dont make good drag racers. you can get a th-350 or th-400 tranny out of a junkyard and have them rebuild. as for rear end, look for one with a ratio of 3.73-4.11. like i said ill be able to help mroe if you have more specific questions. over time you will find that chevy engines are easier to work with and cheap then ford motors.

 

Alright, what vehicles should I look for that I can pull a 350 from? What stroker kit? What heads? It is an automatic, don't know what tranny I want to replace it with, but 5spd auto or 6spd manual preferred, so what model numbers? I'm wanting to go with a Mustang 8.8 rear with 4.10s. How much should I expect to pay for the tranny rebuild, or is it something I can do myself? Any other power adding mods? I'm wanting to do dual exhaust exiting in front of the rear tires. What size rims/tires do I want? Where can I find interior pieces besides a junk yard (carpet door panels, arm rests, dash, etc)? Can this all be done for under $8k if I do it myself? Like I said, I'm wanting to finish in 2-3 years or so, hopefully have the engine/drivetrain in next summer, gonna work on the interior during school this year bit by bit, and paint the final summer, gloss black, black interior.