1980 Chevy Scottsdale K20

[93FatBottom]

So I dragged the truck home today, a 96 Tahoe, an 8 dollar harbor freight tow strap, and some air for the tires later and here she sits at home waiting for a new heart.

I got around to decoding the Vin, and the truck came from the Factory with a 400 small block. I had been planning on finding me a good 454 from a 70's pick up, but I am considering dropping in a 400 just to stick to my trucks homage. I'm waiting for an email back for a 454 from a 73 chevy pick up, and also an email about a 400 small block from another truck (unsure of the year) the 454 is a 4 bolt, the 400 is a 2 bolt, both are running, the 454 is still in the truck, both are 600 each. She sits on 40's, and I'm looking into a picking up a set of hummer 36's from a military surplus supplier nearby. I would think the 400 would be a good choice for the 36's, but for the 40's, well I've blown up enough small blocks for me to not want to even deal with it. I would much rather swap in a 454, a motor that has been tested true for me in my years, and be happy with plenty of power to spin those 40's, and be confident the motor wont ever leave me stranded. The truck DID come with a large amount of new parts for a small block chevy (New moroso oil pan, valve covers, doug thorley headers with air injection, and a brand new in-box Comp Cams Xtreme Energy XE250H camshaft) but I'm planning on listing all those up on craigslist tomorrow after I clean out the cab and bed and do an inventory, see whats usable, whats not, etc etc.

I'm not looking to run any smog equipment on my motor of choice, no air injection/smog pump, no cat converters, no nothing. I've driven a 454 with and without and the difference was ridiculous, don't even get me started on my air injection small blocks. I'm not looking to make ridiculous power, but I'm planning a strong build, one that will fry them 40's easily, tow my trailers and boat, as well as be fit for a rig recovery, as I make some serious dough from late night weekend recovery missions, especially during mud season.

Does anyone have a strong recommendation for my application, and some supporting facts to back it up? Whatever I choose, I'm going to do a cam and intake, some slight head work, and my cousin just completed a gear driving timing set on his small block in his 78 K10, and that sound was beautiful, so I'm thinking it would be a welcomed upgrade to whatever motor I choose.

Thanks in advance guys!