I recently picked up a 305 S10 and want to do a small budget $2,000-2,500 all said and done build. I have a 1997 Suburban laying around my house that has well over 275,000 miles and hasn't moved in 2 years... it became a parts truck for my other project.
I had the bright idea to use the motor for my S10, planned on freshening it up, having the heads machined and cleaned, and throwing a cam in it. Well, I know the pictures aren't the greatest but I think picture number 3 speaks for itself. The grit on the pistons isn't anything more than gunk that fell in when I pulled the heads off.
I am very surprised. The pictures seriously don't do the cylinder walls any justice. The lifters look brand new, the cam wore very evenly and the heads have minimal carbon build up. I am not even going to pull apart the bottom end. I had the pan off and everything looked pretty good. Got a few measurements to take and the heads are off to the machine shop on Monday.
Best part is this motor usually went an extra 2,000 miles before oil changes
