392 in replace of the 345

["Chris and Ranae Procyk" <procyk19@domain.elided>]

I applaud your apparent interest in improving the output of your truck w/out
asphyxiating the poor guy stuck behind you in traffic.

In trying to stay with the "same or later model engine" rule, you'd be stuck
because there is no such thing as a 78-on 392 that would qualify for light
truck duty... all the ones after 1975 were in medium duty trucks.

And all 392's from '73-on were improved cooling.

But the pre I/C 392 is basically a bored 345-- that is, it is both
dimensionally identical and *AFAIK* has every bolt hole and mounting thingy
you would need in the same places as your current engine.

So you could basically strip everything off your current 345 longblock and
bolt it onto a pre-73 392 longblock and the only way anybody could tell
would be to look at the serial number - and an "accident" with the grinder
could solve that...

I also think if you got a I/C 392 you could just use the 345 heads- which
you were thinking of anyway.  Somebody on the list knows for sure.  (Ask
Bill T. for the correct head gasket part number- I think it's permanently
burned in his brain <g>).

Finally, of course, you could fit readily-available 392 pistons- unless
somebody on the list knows something I don't- to one of your 345's.  The
downside is that the pistons alone cost more than a good-running but rotted
out T/A goes for.  And it wasn't clear from your post whether you actually
had a 4bbl on any of those 345s.