I tell you what, since your in it to be different..... Put an all aluminum 5.3l Vortec with a carb conversion. With a cam, headers, and induction, you should be pulling over 400. almost 500 if you massage some nice heads into it. And low weight on the nose.

 

i dont know how to do the carb conversion, how is it done? and what types of induction would be best for a truck that would mostly see mud or race on a dirt track

 

Carb conversion manifolds are sold by a few companies for LS style engines. The stock manifolds are also clockable 180 degree's if you want to turn them around (for throttle body injection). If your track, then the simplest would be carb induction, but you have to make a choice between "mechanical induction" vs "electronic induction". Best is a subjective term, so you will need to figure what the vehicle is being used for and figure it out. I recommend the 5.3 or the 5.7 due to their rod angle, as the 6.0 gets a little too long for longevity (their service rating is 300,000 miles due to side load). The LS1 is also aluminum, but can be cost prohibitive. All LS heads fit on each engine since they are in the same family (similar to the 318/360 stuff) so you can put LS1 heads on a 5.3l...... yada yada yada. The LS is the epitomy of pushrod technology, and a company would be hard pressed to improve upon it without going to OHC style engines. Again, this would complicate your swap seeing as the chrysler engines fit with little or no fuss. I, myself, opted for the 360 magnum (roller) engine for a few reasons, but mostly for strokability later. The swap negates having to machine your driveshaft, make custom mounts, make transmission mounts; it also works with the stock instrumentation, and has reputability among the mopar fans. Since your "just looking" and really just trying to acertain a swap, you have to decide on everything, but you have to make compromises along the way. The absolute "best" (subjective) way would be to improve your existing engine with cam, heads, exhaust, and throttle upgrades, not to mention the computer control.

 

the thing is if put cams and heads on the engine i have i would have to rebuild the whole thing, had the truck in the shop about a year ago and i asked "did you fix the problem" and the response i got from the mechanic (who is a real close family friend) said "there are a ton of problems but fixed the ones i had it in for" haha, but i like the idea of the 5.3, what models did they put the 5.3 into, sounds like a good idea

 

the engine i always liked best was a carbed 340, my uncle had one in his duster and i pulled up behind him in my 4.0 high output comanche, we both revved, i had do blow through major amounts of smoke only to wasted to the next light.
the 340 was lightweight (small block) and had tons of power. check out the album cover for " the cars" in the mid 80's. 340 duster, wicked! the dart had the same engine but did not look as good.
the cover was from the "heartbeat City" album. the early 70,s duster was also known as the "Demon"
btw. you might want to check out the "candy-o" cover. they where voted best album covers of the 80's