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Hey guys, i know the first thing you're gonna tell me to do is search. But i need to get my truck on the road "yesterday" for work. Its an '81 ext. cab, longed with a 351m. All i need is for it to be reliable at 75-80mph highway, and non-egressive city driving. Anything with help, suggested rear ends, tire sizes, cam, lifter, rocker sizes, carb sizes, anything. thank you. Everything is stock by the way.
What rear gears you running? I am assuming you don't have overdrive? 3:50s and 33s will get you a decent highway cruise speed. Stock motor and trans should be fine.
You likely have 4.10 gears, being that it is a 3/4 ton. Does your truck have a tach? As it sets now, your truck will be most comfortable cruising at 70mph max. Slightly larger tires will help a bit.
1:1 in top and 4.10's = there's no way that truck is going to be comfortable (or safe) at 80mph.
Tires large enough to keep it around 3, 000 rpm are not going to fit in the wheel wells and will rub the frame in turns.
The 335 series engine *can* be built for horsepower and rpms but it won't be cheap or happen "yesterday".
Read some of GaryLewis' epic threads or go ask the question in the 335 section of the performance engines subforum.
I know you don't want to hear it but scrape some cash together and buy a more modern truck with an overdrive transmission.
The newer engine will be more happy at the higher revs you're asking of it.
1:1 in top and 4.10's = there's no way that truck is going to be comfortable (or safe) at 80mph.
Tires large enough to keep it around 3, 000 rpm are not going to fit in the wheel wells and will rub the frame in turns.
The 335 series engine *can* be built for horsepower and rpms but it won't be cheap or happen "yesterday".
Read some of GaryLewis' epic threads or go ask the question in the 335 section of the performance engines subforum.
I know you don't want to hear it but scrape some cash together and buy a more modern truck with an overdrive transmission.
The newer engine will be more happy at the higher revs you're asking of it.
Aye, these things were designed to operate at 55 MPH (the National Speed Limit at the time) and the 335-series engine - particularly the 400 - can be an excellent torque-producing engine for pulling heavy loads at slow speeds but isn't at all designed to be an 80 MPH highway cruiser.
And something built during the Carter/Reagan era is by definition not going to be as reliable as something 30 years newer... plastic becomes brittle, rubber dry rots, electrical connections become corroded, TTB bushings and suspension joints wear out, parking brake cables rust together, frames crack, gas tank senders stop working, etc.