Normally i drive a 89 LX 5.0L mustang to work everyday in the summer(still in high school), but my dad has an old 80's chevy truck that i asked him if i could have and he said yes.  I will use this truck to drive when it is raining(gravel roads+mustang+rain=not cool)  It aint a pretty truck by any means, rust holes in the fenders, red paint that is now pink, red crushed velvet 80's interior(yuck), that is also now pink.  This thing is mainly going to be beat on and driven where the mustang cant go.

Heres where the problem lies:  It sports the old 350ci diesel engine(oldsmobile 350 block, roller cam).  The motor has been rebuilt a couple times in the past because of overheating(they werent made to pull massive trailers with even bigger loads), and was overheated 7 or 8 years ago and parked.  Obviously I need to rebuild the motor, rings and bearings so says the old man.  These motors are extremely gutless(trust me), and I was just wondering if anyone knew of some way to get a little more zip outta this chunk of iron.  I was thinking a cam of some kind or some old school tricks(flipping the air cleaner lid is only natural). of course i dont expect it to outrun my mustang, but would like to be able to at least spin the tires( ah hem "tire") on the highway.  Oh ya and I dont like spending money on something other than my mustang.

Am I asking too much of this forgotten engine of the 80's, or is there actually some hope in a cloud of tire smoke?

Any help is greatly appreciated, even if it doesnt result in tire smoking action!

Your cheapest route overall would be to grab a rebuildable gasoline 350 for 100 bucks and throw a Northern Auto Parts $138.00 rebuild kit at it.  I guess you might have to get a new trans if the old engine is Olds-based but there is not much you can do to those N/A diesels short of turbocharging them.  

Find an Olds 350 engine it's almost a straight swap, this way you can keep the existing turbo 400 trans plus you don't have to hunt for new moter mounts and other brackets. 

Don't even bother doing anything to that diesel. I grew up in a little town Nebraska that had a total of four cop cars including the chiefs. In 84 they decided to replace the three patrol cars with 84 Olds 88 diesels. The engine is converted by the factory from gas to diesels as a fuel efficient option. Unfortunately, this motor falls into other GM disasters like the Caddy diesel and the 8-6-4 gas V8s.

Anyway within a month all three cop cars had their engines grenaded while patrolling our little town. And, chasing down my friend with me in the passenger seat. I personally saw one go and blow the hood clean off the car smashing the windshield in the process. The whole car was burned to the ground.

Haha sweet woulda liked to see that

Thanks guys, 305 it is.