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I've got that same year, K10, retired to snow plow duty, but I drove it full time for over 5 years, it too was an automatic with spicer manual type hubs, which was a lot better than the full time ones, that auto trans. went and a friend at work had a complete 4 spd set up, everything out of a mid 70's chevy farm P/U truck with about 30,000 miles on it before it rusted out. The trans lube was still clear in it, changed that out though, to 85/140 cling, and put the 4 spd in there, differentials were 270's so the speedo was off, definitely highway gears made one trip home with it and it was retired. Matter of preference on the plugs, I can remember doing that (hotter plug) with the first engine in this truck, which had some blow by, but went back to the normal range when I put a new one in. Thermostat does need to be right, engine needs a certain temp to run the best, I've tried it without the thermostat and all that, seems to like 170-180 to run best. Another small block chevy I had beefed up along with the auto trans, was put into a '78 vette, the one thing that impressed me about that was the inexpensive, but higher voltage Accel HEI ignition module/kit that went onto the stock distributor, it was like $100 then,'91 or so, + 8mm wires and I forget which plugs, now been warned to stay away from champion, that motor would start instantaneously in the freezing cold, and having the carb dialed in, timing and all that jazz, was probably the first time I actually got everything situated just right, something was just unique about how it started, I figured the extra ignition voltage was it. This 350 motor was in the 325-375 HP range, never knew exactly it was nothing radical just a few steps up from stock, more compression, little extra lift on the cam, had roller rockers. It actually was a screw up, someone had put dome top pistons, (compression was ridiculous) radical high lift cam, never even pinned the rockers, they would have broke loose, had them shave the domes off the pistons and tone everything back down to something reasonable that you could drive, long story, some genius thought the more radical the better, thing would have come apart when I got it.
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