304 vs. 345

reuben

reuben

Member
Which would be better for a trail rig. I have a pieced togather 345 in my garage that I dont know the condition of, and I just picked up a parts Scout with a 304 in it which I got to fire. Would it be a dumb idea to put the 304 in and slowly rebuild the 345. Or will the 304 just not have enough power to get out of its own way. I will have a 727-20 combo. Anywhere between 5.13 and 5.89 gears and probably 42-44" tires.
 
Apples to apples, there really isn't that much of a power difference between a bone stock 304 and a same condition 345. That said, the old saying about no replacement for displacement still applies. If the 304 turns out to be a good runner, why not swap it in just to get your rig mobile? You might find with your low gears that it provides plenty of power out on the trail. If you find it barely adequate and thirst for more, at least the rig is serviceable while you get the 345 in shape. Or do like I did and pass on those baby motors in favor of a 392. Go big or go home!:icon_twisted:
 
As tim taylor always says, "more power!".

Having said that, I doubt you will find the sv304 very lacking in the power department. You need to remember the same exact engine was put into fleets of school buses and medium duty trucks that provided yeoman service for years and years.

You also pay a price for more cubic inches. My sv304/4-speed in my '65 3/4-ton 4x4 t-all consistently gets 14-15 mpg. The sv392/727 in my '74 3/4-ton 4x4 p-up consistently got 8.5 mpg. Both have the same rear gears.

There are ways in which you can warm up an sv304 as well.

In any case, if you have a running engine, put it in and see how it goes. After you discover what it will do for you I think you will have a better idea of which direction you will want to go later on.

Good luck.
 
That depends on the type of wheeling you are doing. I like the 304. Couple it with a t-19 wr and it will give you pleanty of power. And, it gets better milage than the 345/392 if it's a daily driver. You May not even want to worry about the 345 in the garage.
 
Ive got a 74 s2 with a 304 727-20 and 409 gears runnin 33's on d44s it does great and has plenty of power to get the job done. And as they said seems to get decent alkygazz mileage.
Even better it seems I always get chosen to be the tow pig , I guess cause the scouts always seem to make it home knock on wood
 
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