Posted by Joe T on September 09, 2000 at 12:50:12:
In Reply to: mopar 360 vs chevy 350 motor swap posted by tk on September 07, 2000 at 22:22:21:
I faced a similar problem at the beginning of 1999. I have a 1983 GMC 1/2 ton pick-up. I bought this truck new for my Father in 1983 to
repay a loan he gave me for my first house. Well, after he died in 1990, my mother wanted to get rid of the truck. Being the sentimental SOB I am, I decided to buy the truck from her --
I wanted something Dad had used, etc. I made a bad mistake when I bought that truck for Dad in 1983. It came with a 305 cid small block.
Dad was adamant about a small engine. He wanted GAS MILEAGE!!! Also, we had always had Ford products and had had several vehicles with the 302 V-8. We always received excellent service from the 302s.
So, assuming the 305 was comparable to the 302, I bought the "fully loaded" GMC (it was about $1000 less than a comparable F-150 at the time). What a mistake! The 305 didn't have enough guts to get out of its own way.
It would run like scat on the freeway, but had no torque and the thing always had drivability quirks (smog crap, I guess). So, to make a long story short, the 305 died at 120,000 miles (pumping oil). I was faced with a dilemma.
I wanted to replace the 305 with a 350 (it was Dad's truck, so there was never any consideration of not replacing the engine and using it forever!). What was the dilemma? Do I buy a rebuilt 350 (~$1200 from a REPUTABLE local rebuilder - not a Pep Boys special),
or do I buy a BRAND NEW CRATE GM 350 for $1150? I thought it was an easy chioce. Go for the completely new engine.
The new GM crate engine was installed in May 1999. From the beginning, I thought there was a slight miss. However, my mechanic said he "could not see anything" on the scope. So, in about 12,000 miles, it was missing so bad that I almost
was stranded one Friday coming home for an Albacore trip in San Diego (another story). So, on Saturday, I pulled the plugs. Number 6 was completly oil fouled! OH S*I*!!!!! Well, and this I can't believe, I called the out of state dealer from whom I purchased the engine from and told them the story. I expected
"too bad, take care of it yourself." However, they said it had a 36,000 mile / three year warranty and any GM dealer in the US would honor the warrany. So, I took it to my local Chevy dealer, again expecting the "sure we will fix it, but you are goning to PAYYYY!!!!!" What they said
was, "we will check it out, and if it is an engine problem not caused by abuse (I am obsessive about maintenance and record keeping) it is covered." I still was not convinved, after all GM represents Corporate America, the pure essence of evil to all of us Baby Boomers (I have to be careful here. I am a Director in Corporate America. I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me. Feeds me quite well as a matter of fact!).
Well, they diagnosed the problem. The new engine had out of spec valve guides. they pulled the heads, replaced all of the valve guides and did a valve job, and DID NOT CHARGE ME A NICKEL!!!!!!! I could not believe it!! The damn thing runs great and GM stood behind their product! All I believed true in life now seemed uncertain!!!!
Now I sound like a commercial for GM! Moral to the story, if money is the driving issue, go GM. If authenticity is the driving issue, go MOPAR.
PS, After I recieved my truck back from the dealer, I returned the next Saturday with a couple of bottles of Gentleman Jack. One for the Service Manager and one for the Mechanic who did my work. The mechanic, a mid-forties white guy with the nick name of "Spiggy," took incredible
primde in his work. It was a pleasure dealing with him and the service manager.