292 to a 350

Ok i have an 81 chevy 3/4. in it right now is a 292 straight six with a manual 4 speed tranny. I want to put a 350 in it what do i need to know. i want to stay with this tranny. is it all the same will it bolt right up. i understand i need new motor mounts but what else i dont know. i have done 350 to 350 swaps with automatic trannys but thats easy. what is ahead of me. will someone let me know.  

If I can make a suggestion, a 1981 292 is but a shadow of what the engine once was. A presmog 292 (72 and earlier) is stronger than a stock 70's and 80's carbed smog 350. I owned one once long long ago and would love to have that engine again. I am not knocking a 350's potential but I know what a good 292 can do and smog was very cruel to that engine. Even a presmog 250 six would run circles around a "smog" 292 and would be a upgrade. Long long ago I have a 66 3/4 ton chevy with a 6 and a 4 speed and it was a tank and would pull anything you hooked up to it. 6's were very viable engines before smog controls.  

well the reason i am changing the motor is because i got the truck handed to me. i did a starter ringear on it than ralized that the block was broken where the starter bolts thread in. I dont know how to realy fix that. one bolt holding on a starter is not enough. LOL.  so i was thinking to make this a project truck. maybe i will lift it. But i need to know the problems i will be facing to change to a V8. I have one at my buddies house that i can put ine the truck. But i will need a new flywheel and clutch or do i. This truck is a BIG learing experience for me. I am 23 and love working on trucks.  

Oh and i dont care about smog controls. i live in a town that doesnt require that. this will be a 350 with out smog controls. my big question is will the motor bolt up to the tranny that the v6 used. i love that tranny and the truck has stock low gears.  

The point I was making about smog controls is not the chopped compression, changed cam, changed timing curve and added head with restrictive ports and it is not just about a few controls external on engine. What killed 292 was it like 250 used on very larger port to feed to cylinders (at different times) which had a lot of flow potential but was not emission friendly so they really neutered the engine internally to try to clean it up and it took a severe power hit and lost about 35 to 40% of its power. Many such as yourself do not realize that there was a completely different "class" of engines before 1973. If you want presmog performance with any engine (6 or V8) you need to build to pre smog standards internally as well as with timing and carb. Old 6's of presmog era where known for starting in any weather no matter how cold it was. Part of this was through design and part was because it took less power to spin them over so they cranked faster in extreme cold for a better light off. Back to your swap. Bell housing is the same so it will bolt up.  HD 350 4x4's came with a 12 inch clutch generally in 70's and went to 11 inch later on. A 292 off that era should have a 11 inch.  Flywheel will bolt to 350 as both 292 and 350 are internally balanced and if it is a 11 inch you are okay. When you deal with a 400 SB (or a 377 which is a 350 with a 400 crank) you need a special flywheel because it is externally balanced. Same with 454 because it is externally balanced as well while a 396 and 427 is internally balanced.  

so when i go looking for my 350 or 292 what am i looking for and how do i tell what year it is from. The 350 i have here came from a 1ton with an automatic. Do u know of any good comapanies out there that would build a good motor for me. and another thing is my 292 is a good motor besides the starter problem. do u have any recomadions for that. I want to hopfully lift this truck and put 36 or 38's on it. i feel the gearing is good bu6t i need to learn alot more about this truck before i do that. Motor problems need to get fixed first. Thank you.  

Well regardless of which engine you use, stock gearing is not going to cut it with 36 or 38's. Do not kid yourself. As far as rebuilding a 292, the challenge would be finding a complete 72 or old 292 with non smog heads, distributor and carb. A 250 and 292 uses same head and intake and same basic distributor so if toy can find a early 250 you can use some parts off it. 250's look same as a 292 except block is taller on a 292 and valve lifter galley cover on side of block is taller on 292. (when you see them both the difference is easy to tell) Also basically when looking for pre smog engines,(6 or V8) basically anything with a large spark plug (13/16) is presmog. GM changed to small plugs (5/8) about the same time as smog.  

if your looking for a 350 try to get one without an e.g.r valve. your probably better with a small block.. as far as parts are concerned. If you grab a 350 with points, grab a newer electronic distributer if you can. the problems you wont have are worth it. use your flywheel and a new clutch. (your aready there so why not.) the only other thing you'll need is the exhaust. the radiator and shroud were the same on the 6,s and 8,s even the sending units are the same ( as long as their guage or light)  

I put 155K miles on my 72 GMC when had it from 74 to 84. Never had any problems with points in it. Nice thing about points is that you can fix them without parts if in the wild. With HEI you have to start swapping parts.  

SnoMan:
I put 155K miles on my 72 GMC when had it from 74 to 84. Never had any problems with points in it. Nice thing about points is that you can fix them without parts if in the wild. With HEI you have to start swapping parts.

Wouldn't it be nice to still have that 72 gmc ............i love those old trucks  
Solid axle chevys can't be beat!
My dream truck: 73-91 chevy 3500 crew cab srw with dana 60/14bolt, 6 inc long travel lift with KING shocks, 37 inc tires and a 24v cummins diesel, nv5600 and np205

SnoMan:
I put 155K miles on my 72 GMC when had it from 74 to 84. Never had any problems with points in it. Nice thing about points is that you can fix them without parts if in the wild. With HEI you have to start swapping parts.

Geo450racer:
Wouldn't it be nice to still have that 72 gmc ............i love those old trucks

I have beat myself up many times for not parking it in barn and keeping it. I needed more seating room and got a clean 79 IH scout Traveler to replace it. It was a 72 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4 with Spicer axles (D44HD and D60) a SM465, factory dual gas tanks (it had provision for a 3rd tank) and factory style quiet dual exhausts. I had a streetmaster intake on it and a H260 competition cam in it. It was a strong running truck. The only thing it did not have (and I wished it had and never got around to it) was 4.56 gears. It had 4.10's with 32 inch 10 ply (bias ply) traction grip tires on split rims but 4.56 would have been better.