It's part of the plan now, but not in the original budget. So i'm substituting a different truck for the time being while i save up the cash to get the head.

My '87 Power Ram 50 is going back on the road for now (i have a build thread for it too)

It has a built up 1984 2.6L with a Non-Jet Valve Head, 10 to 1 Compression, Balancing Shaft Elimination, High Volume Oil Pump, Aisan Progressive 2BBL Carb, Mild Port Work, Oversized Valves. And a KM145 (this is actually my last KM145, they don't last very long, even behind bone stock 2.6's) If it kills this one (and it will for sure), i'm bolting a NP435 behind the 2.6. The 435 can handle a Chrysler 440 (7.2L), so it won't even know if there's a 2.6L in front of it.

I just have to replace the bearings, one of the rod bearings looked iffy so i'm replacing those (but it's hard to find 0.5 rod bearings anymore, every parts store lists them as Obsolete/No Longer Available) I already had a Gasket Set here, so i tore the engine down and honed the cylinders, cleaned the oil passages, polished the crank, lapped the valves and went through the engine with a fine tooth comb. In the end i guess it would have been fine to run as-is, but i know those bearings would have bit me in the butt a few years down the road.

Tomorrow i'm going to check with the only parts store in town that deals with rare/antique/unique vehicles to see if they stock the bearings i need (i know they have the bearings in stock for my 4D56, so hopefully they stock the 2.6 Bearings too... If i remember correctly the 4D5x & 2.6L share the same Rod & Main Bearing part numbers)