I have been searching around for a engine with a good amount of torque to wedge into my square body daily driver truck. I have been flirting with building a 305 v6 just not pulled the trigger yet . Then today I see someone parting a running 53 Chevy 3100 with a 316? Is this a typo of some sort? Where can I learn more about this engine. I know that the 302's were good power plants to play with. But, I never heard anything about a 316 before. Could it be a bored or military modified 302? Some insight on this engine would be great.
In 53 they had 216 straight 6 engines. GMC made up to a 478 v6. There is a newer straight 6 that has good power in some OT Trailblazers.
That 305 V6 (GMC) will have a lot of torque. It will also have a huge thirst for fuel for it's displacement, weighs a LOT, and is slow to rev. It is, after all, a truck engine. But there are better choices. You might consider a 292 Chev/GMC 6 (built between 1963 and early '80's era). It would be have a lot of torque and is not a particularly heavy engine, uses any V8 Chevy transmission (same block bolt pattern). They CAN be a little hard on fuel too, but think that is correctible with the right carb and manifold, such as a 4 barrel intake running a smaller CFM 4 barrel carb or even a good 2 GC Rochester (2 barrel). Of course, there are any number of good torques producing V8's out there.
Square body chevy pu, put a stroker crank/rods/pistons in a 350 and install an overdrive trans behind it. This will give you more torque than any other option except swapping to a big block, give you decent milage, and good resale value down the road if you need it. Swapping in an oddball 6 cyl will make the truck unsaleable, and not as much fun to drive. What do you have for a rear end ratio- some of the square bodys got some very poor ratio's and that might be what you really need to fix.
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