Posted by Merrill Fish on November 05, 1998 at 17:12:42:
In Reply to: 350 engine posted by Paul on November 05, 1998 at 12:07:23:
Need more power? These trucks in stock, original form, have served yeoman duty on farms and ranches the world over, and done it without a complaint, save the usual stuff that can go wrong with any machine. Mine, a 1960 WM300 was used by a large power company in building power lines in the mountains, and then, when they retired it and sold it, it was used to plow fields on a ranch pulling a multi gang, about 12 to 15 foot wide disc and harrow combo. Nowadays they use those big red or green four wheeled eight tired tractors for that; or maybe a crawler of some sort. From there, it went to a ranch in the hills where it did similar duty, only up and down hills. It was finally retired when the guy made enough to afford a tractor to replace it. I'd say that it definitely does not lack power for the purpose it was designed for. As to making a show truck of it, ??? If your truck is still original, and reasonably sound, considering its age, it would be more attractive to me as a stock restoration, maybe with some flash added in just the right spots; these things are getting scarce enough to rate endangered species status. If you just like the sound of a good healthy V8, there are so many aternatives available that I for one would have a rough time picking one; trucks like the late 50's to late 60's Dodge W series, some of which came with V8's from the factory, the late 60's to early 80's Chevys, in which engine swapping is about as easy as it can get, and pre 78 Fords. In all of these one would get a great deal of working capability, due to the design of the suspension/drivetrain, and the added advantage of easier parts availability; not that getting parts for old PW's is necessarily difficult, it just sometimes takes a bit more patience. I guess what I am trying to get across is the idea that these trucks were designed to work, not go fast, and look reasonably decent doing it. I don't think I would change them much. But, bottom line, have a good time with it regardless of how you approach it.
M