My Uncle gave me a 89' ECSB Chevy 1500 2wd this week. The engine was ran out of oil and it had a blown head gasket so the block is ruined. I'm going to put one of three engine's in it 383 genI, 6.0l genIII, or a 8.1l. It will be a daily driver but I don't want to be easy picken for Hemis. Any suggestions?

 

I say 383 they make big tq and plenty it will bolt right in plus there cheap to build.

 

Well man that is a hard desicion! I like the 383 build up they have plenty of torque and good power also they are easy to build. The LQ9 6.0L now a days seems to be everyones choice when swaping motors on the NBS chevy's. They can produce good power with just a set of H/C and the rest of the works.

Well the 8.1 I havent heard anything special about them but that 496ci wouldnt look bad under the hood either. But you can build a SB generating as much power or even more than a BB.

I would either go 6.0 or 383.

 

keep it original and go 1st gen 383, with a good cam, heads, intake, and carb, you should be around 500hp/500tq.

 

Damn no wonder I haven't been able to find this post I meant for the general truck section. OOPS
I probably go with a 8.1 but I won't rule out a 6.0 just yet. To get 500hp out of a gen1 will through drivablety out the window and a carb is out of the question. I know gen1 engines well and have I built several 500+ engines. I know I can enough power out of a 8.1 to run low 12's with a cam, exhaust, and tune and still idle like stock.