Well, seeing as the stench of burning oil and the black puddle under my truck were not earning me any positive comments from my fellow motorists, I decided to fix the valve cover leak on my 300 I6. Seems simple, no? No. On my test run, everything was fine, no more leak. decided to take some movies back to the rental shop, go for a little drive. Almost there and smoke starts pouring from under the hood and the vents in the cab. I get to the store, and I have a small fire on my manifolds. Put that out, drive it home (not smart, I know) and now it looks as though I've got another leak somewhere. I'm torn on what to do now. I've got two months where I have another car to drive, and I'm trying to decide between three options.

1. Fix what I've got. Pro-cheap, easy. Con-I've still got 190,000 mile engine thats getting REALLy weak. It's bad.

2. Put in a 90,000 mile junkyard motor from a buddy. Pro-cheap ($150), not too difficult. Con-I've got a 300-6 when I'd rather have a 351, as long as I'm going to the work of pulling an engine. Also, who knows what condition it's in. I'd have to tear it down to the bearings and bare block to be absolutely sure. I can't have it break down on me again.

3. Put in a 351 Pro-It's what I want. The 6 is a great motor, but if I'm gonna have one truck, the 351 fits my needs better Con-costs me more, more of a pain to install. I can get the money via a student loan, so money isnt' really a problem. What is a problem is the install. I'd really have to find a new (ZF) trans to put in there, and there are other issues.

I really only need one truck, so buying a another seems kind fo rediculous. I've sunk too much money into this rig already to sell it, I'd get slaughtered if I tried. And if I did sell it, I'd end up buying almost the same truck, just with a different engine and trans. I just don't see that as an option. I think doing the 351 swap is my best idea. I've got the time, and the money, I just don't know though. Wow, this ended up being a lot longer than I intended it to be. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

So really, what are the monetary costs of the 351 install? If its worth the extra labor to you, is it worth the cash for the motor and tranny, and all the other junk? If $$$ is not the issue, 351 is the answer. If labor is the issue, but not $$$, buy a New 300. If cash and labor are an issue, have the current 300 rebuilt, you have another car for the time it would take. Go for it.