The engine in my '53 Chevy pickup is a '57 270 GMC. I built it in 1978. It was my only driver for several years and is still used as a driver/hauler. It has never spent a night inside unless I was working on it. It has been all over the West from Nevada to Texas and all one California. I don't know how many thousands of miles are on it but none have been easy. I have freshened it twice with new rings and bearings and just lapping the valves. It has a cam from Clifford that has held up fine. It runs the later welded stamped rockers. I think it is bored .060". I don't remember what pistons I used. It has the small port late 270 head with bigger valves and a little clean up porting. I'm running an 500cfm 4bbl carb and Fenton cast headers. At first I ran Viper tube Headers and got higher rpm with them. The valves began to float at 6,200rpm. I still regularly shift it at 5,500. In the In the first 3 gears. It has 3.54 rear gears and a T-5. It will cruse at 70-80 mph all day. In 5th gear 3,000 rpm is 90 mph. (clocked with mile markers and a stop watch over three miles on the way home from Bonneville) At 65-70 it will get almost 18 mpg.My point is that you can build a great dependable driver out of these engines without too much trouble or money. The bragging rights of a 302 are substantial. Most people you run into won't know what it is. You can tell them anything you want and they won't know the difference. Build it to be the most fun and trust worthy.
