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Gasguzzler, that was exactly my line of thinking. It would net me the low end torque I want without losing much if any fuel economy, as well as being a reliable, long lasting engine that I already have.
Then I started poking around the shop, and kicking ideas around...seems I've got quite a few motors lying around.
there's a subaru 2.2...probably gonna be the same low torque problem as my chevy 2.2, but they do love forced induction! plus it could be built while I drive around with my leaky chevy 2.2...hmmm. clutch and adapter plate could be interesting to source.
then there's a pile of jeep 4.0 and 4.2 inline sixes...boy i wish there was room for one of those under my little hood! lots of low end torque, reasonable displacement, good aftermarket support, and some real low lift/duration cams available...again, not pushing a 4500lb brick around would probably wake one of those up nicely.
a guy can dream I suppose.
back to reality...assuming I do the 5.7, I'll need to source a transmission, and it'll be a manual for sure.
the most expensive route is a t-56, but I could retain my axle gear ratio because of the double-overdrive.
I could go 5-speed, like a t-5 or nv3500, or an ax-15(that I have lying around already). cheaper, but I'm in for a re-gear if I want to see any real MPG gains.
I've also heard that a 4-speed has less parasitic loss than a 5 or 6 speed because of the lack of an intermediate shaft and one less gear cluster, but I'd be going crazy tall with my axle ratio, and I'd have pretty wide ratio changes between gears...seems like it wouldn't drive as well.
my feeling is that the 5 or 6 speed will be the way.
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