picking up 77 Monte with suspect at best drivetrain but almost no rust
what's best motor trains set up, looking for quick driver, not racing, but not low and slow either? thoughts? what's worked for you? potential costs, I'm doing labor

 

Kinda a question for yourself. how much power are you looking for and which transmission style trans do you want ? So many options and directions you can go. Since it's a 1977 everything will fit with few modifications. Transmission could be auto or manual set up and since the transmission crossmember can be moved without much problem you can use about any transmission such as TH350, Th400, 700R4 , 4L60 or 4L80. or go the 4-6 speed by getting pedals and linkage from a Camaro, Chevelle or Nova and bolt the parts right up. As for the engine most would go with a LS base engine , I prefer a Gen 1 engine because good parts are easy to find and cheap. Cheapest route would be use the current parts and build from there.