Olds,Chevy,and Ford

[SIDEWAZ]

Hey guys I've been reading your board for a will, finally got around to joining in. I have a 1972 sidewinder 350 olds, with a 2 bbl carb, berk 12jc this winter working on the interior. Next year I want to do the motor up, I'm on a budget, but i want to put a nice running solid engine in that I don't have to tweak all the time, I like the 350 olds so far, but looking into parts to rebuild, I'm learning they are hard to find and expensive, other than the oil problem with the olds, I wanted to get some feedback as to pro's and cons of olds, chevy, and ford. I have been thinking about converting to a chevy or ford, just because the parts are cheaper and more available,(can that be done with out changing anything on the berk? Thanks guys. Also this is WetDreams fault!

[blondebomber]

If your on a budget go with a Chevy.

[Dimarco Kid]

Go Chevy, Bomber's jet has a pretty mild (except for the foot cam, inside joke) and his boat goes great. One of, if not the hardest pulling naturally asperated jets I've been in. Parts are so much easier to find and buy. Big plus is the number of them out there, if you got a problem, one of these guys is bound to of encountered the same. Good luck!
D Kid

[DansBlown73Nordic]

Is that what you call that? Foot Cam???? wink
I thought it was a invisable Blower!!!

[syke-o]

Ford baby!!!

[blondebomber]

come on people that wasn't a foot cam. That was the real thing.

[fat rat]

The foot cam is a must for any Jet, But seriously speaking, if you like the 350 you'll love a 454 BBC, you can pick up a non H.O. motor cheap.....good torque/H.P and tons of parts available, hope to see you at B.O.T.E. 2....Good Luck.

[Wet Dream]

Ok, time to get my feet wet...
Stick with the Olds!!!
Rat barely has his broken in,
Dan has to beat on his to get it going,
Dimarco still has to put his in the boat,
But Bomber's does run like a raped ape, although the throttle needs heavier return springs.
But since you are on a budget, this is going to take some time if you go with another brand engine. A changeover from Olds to Chevy, small block to big block is going to cost approximately $2000 in the parts that you need, motor mounts, exhaust, pto, intake etc.
I ran with your boat and I think it does pretty damn well Tripp. You can still get quite a bit more out of that engine.

[Moomawnster]

I'm with Bill on this one.... keep the Olds! first.. you said it has a 2 bbl carb, lots of room for improvement there! but what do I know .... my 350 is on the floor right now waiting for new heads! eek!

[malcolm]

I'm staying with Olds just to be different. I don't want to copy everyone else and run a belly button motor. Mine's been turn key for over 4 years. I pulled it out this year just to go for more HP.