[FC] Best engine combo

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

>What I get from it all is I need a 110 engine with 95 heads, 140 exhaust(or headers), stock size tires, and either a 389 or a 355 diff; and I'll have a decent all-around truck I can tow and haul reasonable loads with.  Reasonable being less than max capacity.  
>

Sounds like it should work, except, if you drive on any freeways, you 
will probably not want the 3.89 diff. A Safe-
Guard would also be a good investment if you only want to do this once.

We drove our old Corvan, generally hauling something, all over the 
western US, using two different engines and both worked quite well for 
many thousands of miles -- I always figured about 150,000, plus the 
original 100,000+ it had when the school district dumped it and the 
drivetrain was robbed for a dune buggy..

First engine was a stockish rebuilt 140 with two original carbs which 
later went back into a Corsa for many more miles before it broke a crank 
(it had been turned 10-10 without re-nitriding) -- that engine was 
replaced with a original 1967 95/auto engine out of a hunk of rust that 
had been driven west from Florida, both with a 3.55 and 4-speed in the 
van. Most of which is irrelevant because it was back when you could 
still buy real gas, but since every one else was speaking about what 
worked for them ...

I'd also switch from "stock" tires to 15"ers of similar diameter, in 
case you need to replace one out in BumDuck, Arid-zona (ardent OSU 
Beaver fan), but then I'd probably also need the fifteen inch wheels to 
clear the brake modifications.

Bill Strickland