A major 383 decision

[1Gary]

I am right at the verge of a major decision for the Ole Yellar engine.Raising gas prices does give me some second thoughts.The only pistons I would buy cost a little over $700.Once bought,there is no turning back.383 or 355??.

Need some input.

[doyoulikeithere]

Gas Prices the way they are, I prefer to run a 4.3.

If you really do care about gas prices, why put in a V8?

Of course if you must have a V8, give up caring about fuel cost!
You will burn A LOT fuel more than your van needs to burn, with either V8.
But hey, if you can afford $700 pistons, go ahead and put in the biggest V8 you can, cuz it seems you got money to burn anyways.

[Smiliesafari]

On a more serious note...........Why not use a 305. It's a great little motor and they develop gobs of torque if built right. Cost only a fraction of what you are building.

[1Gary]

To answer your question about the V8-the van's use is to tow my vendor trailer from one market to another three days a week in a circuit in Ohio.Just thought the extra torque would help save money.More being less because of using less of it.The chosen Mahle custom built pistons by design are a low compression 9.1 piston still allowing the use of 87 gas without pushing the rings into a spacer and are coated for long life.That is why if I pull the trigger on this purchase,I am then committed to the rest of the build.

Years ago Zam asked me if one or two miles per gallon was going to brother me and then with the gas prices I said no.This business is my retirement.Sure don't want to make a really bad mistake.I could build a 355 for alot less and it "might" get better mpg.I have to,with your guys help,make up my mind what I am going to do in the next two days.

The Ole Yellar 4.3 is a strong runner. So your right about the 4.3's.Some guys with V8's have reported the same gas mileage or better.Just unsure about a 383 VS a 355.Maybe Reaper could give some input from his V8 conversion too.

[1Gary]

On a more serious note...........Why not use a 305. It's a great little motor and they develop gobs of torque if built right. Cost only a fraction of what you are building.

I already own a 4 bolt main roller L31 waiting at the machine shop for a set of pistons to bore to.

[astrozam]

Years ago Zam asked me if one or two miles per gallon was going to brother me and then with the gas prices I said no..

But with the gas prices now...I say get a mtn bike

[1Gary]

Years ago Zam asked me if one or two miles per gallon was going to brother me and then with the gas prices I said no..

But with the gas prices now...I say get a mtn bike

Hehe-Zam,you nailed it.LOL

[mdmead]

Go big or go home!

I don't think the difference in gas mileage between the two choices is really worth discussion. But the old adage, 'their ain't no replacement for displacement' rings true. All other things being equal, you will have more horsepower and torque with the bigger engine. And I've never heard anyone who tows say "I have too much torque."

[astroturf]

Save yer money. Go here instead:

http://www.google.com/search?q=nissan+n ... ent=safari

Jim

[doyoulikeithere]

Well, if your towing all the time a heavy load on the highway, then Ya, A V8 is the ticket. (and sounds great too!)
Not certain which would use more fuel but I assume its probly the bigger displacement if all else is equal.
Either way, they are gonna drink a lot if you like to pull hard.

Jim, Thats one Fugly beast. Lol. but I kinda agree. you could buy a nice hauler for the cost of a huge project sometimes Just kinda works out that way.

But then it wouldnt be an AstroSafari !!!

[1Gary]

Save yer money. Go here instead:

http://www.google.com/search?q=nissan+n ... ent=safari

Jim

Thank you for that Jim.I'm just in too deep between Ole Yellar,the shop van and the v8 donor van I have bought.

[loopie]

How about building a 355 for max fuel efficiency and gear up the rear end a bit to maximize torque(3:73???)...then just realize that your top cruising speed will be reduced when keeping it at 1800-2000rpm on the hwy

[doyoulikeithere]

I'm with Loopie, if you are still concerned about fuel use.
Even the smaller 355 should have more power than you need to haul your trailer unless maybe you pull bulldozers.
It should be more than able to pull 5000 pounds, even a 4.3 can, and It makes me wonder what your retirement trailer is full of?
arent you putting in a bigger rear axle too?

[1Gary]

Well taking bits and pcs of what everyone posted,I do think I have come up with a solution.

You can be very sure my budget is not a bottomless pit.I am just more committed to more to eating PBJ than I guess most would.

So I am going to pull the trigger on building the 383.I have a stripped 1989 sub frame for the 3" pipe lift from the V8 donor van I bought and a 1991 pick up truck 700r4.The donor of course came with V8 engine mounts.So I would have a complete ready to bolt in power train so to speak.

Now you might think I nuts.By using the above that leaves me with a very,very,strong 50,000 rebuilt 4.3 out of the 1989 Ole Yellar van that is very salable and a second sub frame.For yrs Mr_Roboto has been talking about the 305's and Skip and I talked alittle bit about them last yr at the balloon fest when we met.So I would need to bone up on 305's because I always excused them as being as expensive to build as 350's.I have a second set of V8 mounts that I bought.Why not do a budget build say $1,500 to $2,000 dollar 305 and use the tranny out of Ole Yellar??.A second sub frame with the pipe spacers already welded to it and a complete power train as a back up plan if after a number of tries I can't get the tune with the 383 to the gas mileage I want.By doing that indirectly it would make me feel better investing in the 383 having this back up plan ready to go.The 383 wouldn't go to waste either because if it didn't work out for Ole Yellar,I could swap it into the very low hp/torque 350 powered RV.If the 383 did work for Ole Yellar,I would have a good 305 to sell off.


So I need suggestions on what yr/type vehicle to buy as a donor for a 305.I would tear it down and have it bored .030 over with cast pistons,new rings and bearings,little bigger than stock cam and OEM performance heads like Vortec's,gasket set and a fresh oil pump.I think I could get that done for around $2,000.

From the beginning I have planed for a Ford 9" with 3.70's gears and 29" tires on a three inch lift.

As it turned out the last little bit on money to start the 383 build won't be here until the 24th.Bummer.Well I have waited this long,two weeks ant going to kill me.

[Kidhauler]

don't want to rain on your parade but everyone i have ever seen with a 305 the first words out of their mouth was i should have got the 350. It gets better mileage because it is not working as hard. To go through all the work of building the engine and doing a swap for such a small increase in cubic inches is nuts. Why not take the money from the 305 project and instead of burning it on a engine rebuild that you are not going to use put that money towards a natural gas or propane kit for the 355. For what you want to do a 350 with a set of headers and a rv cam running the stock tbi with a chip would pull your trailer with ease. Plus it is easy to tune and will still get you good mileage. Your not building a drag truck so why would you want to do all the bottom end machine work to build a 383. They are high performance quick revving motors that are going to be hard to tune to get the mileage out of it you want.

heck gary for the money your talking about spending on making 2 complete drivetrains and then deciding which one to use you could probably sell the van and take the motor money and buy a new ford pick up with the turbo v6 in it.