maybe... I think it would be enteresting to see an old pickup build. They're cheap, powerful, and easy to find. They are popular hot rods around where I'm at, and they shouldn't be excluded for being what they are. I think it should be running a 454, and if you find one 1974 or older, you've already got flat top pistons, so your pretty good off with one of them as a project. It would be a nice change to see others interested in hot rod pickups besides my brother and father.  

I vote E85 as well. I am building a 10.5:1 350cid for a '70 nova that I plan to tune on E85 just because of the high octane.  It makes perfect sense for my weekend cruiser.  It's avaliable, street legal, and will bring awareness about the fuel to other hot rodders.  The relatively low compression ratio(for alcohol)puts me on the bubble for premium pump gas just in case I drive the car away from home and go though an area that E85 hasn't reached yet.  Those areas are becoming fewer and with our demand, they will disappear.  

Well Johnny, when are we going to know what you plan to build next??? It sounds like there are more than a few people that would like to see a E-85 build up.
Keep up the good work

gearhead3  

Looks like you can find e85 in SoCal,check www.e85fuel.com.

I would like to see some of the Engine Master builders try their hands at this too.

What real world C/R can be run with e85?
12.5-13.5:1 ?

This would be more interesting than another plain old engine rebuild with trick heads and crazy over the top cam.

Make it a long term project the way Doug Marion did his Chevelle way back when,anybody want to try some 45in long primary headers?  

I like the E-85 idea. I want to convert mine to E-85 but I only have 10.3:1 and e-85 likes compression.  

How about another small block Chevy?
I'm sure somebody just came out with a new torque spec on the harmonic balancer that needs to be reviewed,NOBODYever gets tired of small block Chevy articles!  

heres one for ya, one of those "just because i'd like to see it" things.  how about a 289 ford with 5.7 chevy rods in it with a huge set of heads and a solid roller.   and with the exception of the price of the cam and heads (and they can be had for a decent price if you maybe buy used) can be done fairly cheap.  stock crank with the rod journals opened slightly and a set of whatever brand (even stock) chevy rod you choose narrowed slightly at the big end. keith black even has a piston..i think its #KB283, but you have to buy all lefts so the valve reliefs are in the correct position.  i think it would be a great engine for a cubic inch limited road race engine....sounds good on paper anyway.  balance it and twist the snot out of it.

hows that for a new and different project engine.  

that is a very interesting idea, but how often do you see a pickup im a magazine? NEVER. it would be new and something unexpected.... people like me would love it!  

E-85 build.
I am going to be doing this with a 454 LS7 with 12.25:1 compression.  Three places in my town have it available, and it's 20 cents cheaper per gallon than 87 octane!  Holley black pump and a modified carb should do the trick.  

I just saw in august hot rod that quick fuel technology has come out with a e-85 specific carb. although it's expensive ( $736.84) I think it would be cool to test it against a regular carb and fuel injection on a 13-14:1 engine specifically bulit for e-85 use. Maybe also look into the cold start problems I have read about and see if the aftermarket has any solutions that they're working on that they would be willing to let us in on.
gearhead3  

I built an E-85 Dodge 440 on the cheap 2 years ago. I converted a Carter Thermoquad to correctly run E-85. The motor was 11.2-1 with a small mechanical cam. Looking back I'd have increased the compression by at least a point if I had it to do over again. It ran fantastic and my mileage was about 90% of my best gasoline mileage.
 I wrote an article on the carb conversion that was in the Feb. 07 issue of Mopar Action. Dave  

I am currently building a Pontiac 383 stroker with a common 301 block.  The intake will be an efi set up that will be as good as an ls1 intake. (no doesn't work well t-body on a carb intake, besides there isn't a good 4bbl intake avalible for this deck height Pontiac.) Goal is 425-450 hp with common off the shelf parts.
The engine is planned to go in my 83 S10 after it is finished. Of course that means the iron headed 426hp 354 Pontiac will need a car to be put into again  Guess I'll be looking for another car body...  

i'd love to see a mini-mouse build, a lil 305, go for a real low buget build and get maximum power out of it.

or maybe a diesel build with propane injection, and souped to the nuts?

on the other hand, an e-85 sound cooler every time i read it.  

The 305 is a good idea. We've got an Engine Master Challenge competitor who is building one. I'd like to do a complete story on that if we can. The Pontiac 383 sounds cool too.  

Ok, here's a challenge, it's not in the tuner world nor the muscle car world. Build a 3800 series pontiac engine in a pontiac bonneville. Yes it is front wheel drive but still has the pontiac american muscle feel. Being it is supercharged try to do a comparison of the turbo verses the supercharger. The M90 supercharged l67 3800 V-6 in my bonneville has been a very good motor and has taken a beating from being launched down the track to pulling a 4000 lb trailer thru the appalachian mountians without a days trouble in the past 3 yrs. The 4T60E tranny with a tranny cooler has been a good contender also. Try adding all the bolt-ons like headers, upgraded injectors even though the pontiac fuel system is good upto 400 hp. Contact the bonneville club and just see what they are doing to L32's and L67's and you'd suprised with what you find.