I got this 1986 Silverado for my birthday this year (May 5th), from my wife.

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I was buying an 82 Silverado from a guy at work

until he quit his job and I've been unable to locate him to make the last payment & get the title, so to ease that headache, my wife picked this up for me.

It was 1,000 bucks at this little used car dealer down the street, and came with a 1 day, 100 mile warranty, lol. I wasnt concerend about the warranty, as I had a good 350 sittin at home in the other truck I 'was' buying from that other guy.
I came across the sweet 350 in this little junkyard which is also just down the street from me,

I was there looking for parts for the 82. I opened the hood of this 86 Blazer which was stripped of everything of the interior. All that remained was the perfect straight body, minus 1 front fender and the wheels. When I opened the hood, my jaw dropped. There sat, what was to me, just a stock 305 or 350 with an Edelbrock Performer intake, Holley 650cfm carb, chrome Edelbrock valve covers and a pair of headers! Nothing under the hood had been removed! So, I asked the guy that runs the place what he wanted for the engine in the Blazer. He told me that it runs, and that it runs good, and that he would take 600 bucks for it. I said alright...heres 1/2 now, pull it for me and I'll be back tomorrow with the other 1/2. (After I had gone home to get a battery & some gas, of course) It started right up on the 2nd try! It came as a complete engine, as you see it, but dirtier and with a different breather. All pulleys, the fan, power steering pump, both FlowTech headers and the exhaust. The guy even gave me the oil cooler!
Anyway, I get it home, start cleaning it up, as it wasnt pretty (I thought). The passenger side valve cover had quite a bit of rust on it, as did the chrome air breather. (Thanks Turtle Wax Chrome Polish & Rust Remover!) Overall I thought it was filthy. Once I got to cleaning it, I realized it wasnt all greasy, but rather it was black paint. I got to thinking, Chevy didnt produce any black engine blocks that I knew of, so I started doing some research on numbers and where to locate them. After some cleaning I found them and ran them through the internet which is where I found out I didnt have a mere 305, but a GM 350 crate motor! :D SCORE! .
I went ahead and finished cleaning the engine up, and I got curious...so I took off a valve cover...and I was stunned. The rockers and the heads were absolutely spotless!

. Not one molecule of gunk anywhere! It looked like the engines I've seen on display at the parts stores or engine shops back home.
Anyway...I already had this 350 installed and running in the 82 when my wife brought home this 86. It had a decent running 305, everything was original, except possibly the tires and a hose here n there, but everything under the hood was there, untouched, as is every wire under the dash.
When I got the truck, I drove it to work for a good week, when I finally said enough is enough, and I asked for 3 days off to do this engine swap. 1 day to remove the 350, again, 1 day to remove the 305, and 1 day to get the 350 into the 86, and running. My wish was granted.
I have since gotten the 350 in,

sanded and cleaned up the headers as best I could, as they were very rusty, and towards the bottoms were pitting, ,

and used a high temp white spray paint. New custom, dual 2 1/2" exhaust with FlowMasters with dumps right before the rear axle. Runs like a charm, and sounds GRRREAT!! Other stuff I've done to it is replace the dash bezel with one I found on ebay

(I'm an ebay junkie btw) I cleaned the clear lens covers,

and disassembled the vent controls facing and repainted the black background gloss black, as it had some moisture damage. The interior, as the exterior has some issues. Most, if not all the chrome had corroded inside,

as did the steering column from the tilt joint down to the dash. I've sanded, primed & painted the steering column gloss black (tilt joint to the dash), installed a steering wheel from an 86 Monte Carlo SS that I got off of ebay and am planning on installing bucket seats (help?). I've installed a sliding rear window that I got for free of of a local Yahoo group and I'm also using parts off of the 82, such as the shocks and some interior accessories.
Truck has what I consider minimal rust through (except the cab corners) but the rest is decent. There is alot of surface rust on the roof and the hood, and some odd bubbles along the sides of the truck...but the floors are very solid, as is the bed.
My new project. . I would have had pics of my progress throughout the engine swap, but that was before I found this site. I do have plenty of pics though, and I do apologize for the LOOONG story, but I wanted to share my happiness. If you've read all of this, I thank you. Please sign my guestbook and give my new toy a rating! :) 1986 Chevy Silverado, factory power windows/locks, tilt, cruise (deleted for now), a/c (deleted for now) factory AM/FM stereo with front & rear speakers. Was a bone stock 305, 4bbl w/Turbo 350 tranny. I have plans on rebuilding the 305 and tossing it in my 95 V6 Camaro :D
Any help on getting my page straightened up would be highly appreciated. elmo_schmelmo1@yahoo.com

Thanks, Chris