318 to 350

[bluetoque]

I have recently cooked my 318 and am thinking of installing a 350 chevy with the 400 turbo. To those who have done this install,what year of truck engine do I look for for that’s fuel injected but without all the pollution apparatus.

[Somethinsomethin]

You would probably be better off putting a 4.8, 5.3 or 6.0 vortec engine in. More power and easy to find. You'll still need a wiring harness, computer, fuel pump and regulator, also a proper flex plate and spacer for the th400 to mount to the block. There''s other options such as electric fans, drive by cable or wire (electric gas petal) and having your computer configured to what transmission you choose. You could also put a carburated 350 in as well, but you asked about fuel injection.
I'm not trying to discourage you and think its a great idea. There's a few things involved in installing fuel injection in a bombardier. I've done it and it cost me quite a bit of money but love the result.

[bluetoque]

I am hoping to find a truck at the wreckers or salvage yard that would have a complete engine,tranny,wiring etc. Just not sure what year would be best suited.

[viking]

Both the 318 and 350 are good choices, I have them in a hard working environment. Staying with the past is always an option when doing some of your own work on the machine. In saying that, my neighbor installed the Holley Sniper Kit on his Chrysler 360. Says it works well. Car club enthusiasts around home are also moving to the Edelbrock AVS2, a regular carburetor with a new style fuel delivery. Both have excellent professional videos to watch. Nothing wrong with a new fuel injected motor either. Good Luck !

[Somethinsomethin]

2wd trucks are harder to find with the combo you want, but not impossible. Look for the 3/4 to 1 ton vans. They are usually equipped with the TH400 or 4L80E transmissions to the engines you want already. I'm running a 6.0 LQ9 engine with either a TH400 or 4L80E transmission. I have a separate computer programmed for either engine/transmission combination. You will also need to modify your harness to work in the bombardier. I got lucky and found a guy who made the harnesses for the bombardier's in Yellowstone national park.

[viking]

Placing a 400 Turbo behind a new style 6.0L engine could be the "Bombardier Beast" of all time.

[Somethinsomethin]

Here is the 6.0 installed.

[FORD F-150]

That's crazy, I don't like how the part above the track had to be cut out for the exhaust. I can see that being a problem when the bogie spring decides to let loose. Me personally I would try to stick with simpler like the 318 to 360 kinda deal.

[viking]

Looks good to me, 40MPH Hurray !!!!!

[Somethinsomethin]

This is a narrow gauge. Shoving a V8 in was not easy as there is very little room compared to the wide gauge and not much room left over for exhaust. Those are sand rail headers made for California noise restrictions of 95 dB. They are on the opposite side of the engine they were meant for and upside down. When I ordered them I thought they would sit higher but it is what it is. The cut outs are angled and have never given me trouble. When I made them, I jacked up the track and made sure they didn't hit the cut outs.
 If the bombardier ever gets in to overdrive gear it does move quite well but I can still over rev quite easily. I use a ford 9" rear end due to the fact it's easy to change gears. I've gone all the way from 4.11 gears down to 2.47 gears, and that's as low as I can go because thats the lowest gear made for it.The rear end has been narrowed down and I installed disc brakes on both sides that run on separate manual pedals. The left/ right brake make it so much easier to turn.
 It's a work in progress and still needs lots of attention. I'd like to build a slider system for it to help flotation as there is extra weight from the engine and transmission.There's been much debate on here about sliders but they are superior in deep snow, not on trail or rough terrain I'd suppose. I've built a slider system set of tracks for my f150 and the bombardier can't even compete with it in the deep snow. The truck will sit on top of the snow and the bombardier sinks to the bottom due to the wheels beating the snow up. It actually shreds the snow to powder causing it to sink and the truck tracks pack the snow as it moves creating the stability.
 I agree a 318 or 360 would be much simpler,quicker and cheaper to do than what I did. People also want to stick to originality and i get that. The original flat head was not in this bombardier when I got it. It had a ford 300 with 2 speed transmission crudely installed and I wasn't happy with it. What I did was complete over kill but I guess I just wanted to see if I could pull it off. They've been running 5.3s in Yellowstone for a while now with all the emissions involved as well, and they seemed quite happy with them.
 

[FORD F-150]

I am impressed with your work, and I can't deny that and I like the idea of modernizing bombardiers. Now, you said you installed brakes on either side of the diff, would you have pictures of the set up to that? Keep up the great work and you will get er done no doubt about that!

[Somethinsomethin]

No pictures at the moment. I'd have to pull the track and sprocket off for that. I can do this for you later. I used a sprint car dual pedal assembly, ford 4x4 rotors which fit perfectly on the axles, 1976 Chevy 4x4 calipers and pads, homemade brackets for the calipers welded to the backside of the rear end and I made my own hubs for the sprockets to bolt on to the 9" rear end.