I just got a 06 Silverado reg cab with 4.3l What do you guys think about this motor? I heard it was similar to the old 350?

Thanks  

The 4.3 is essentially 3/4 of a 350 small-block. It's a decent motor. The older ones had a tendency to burn oil when they were cold, but I think the new ones should be a lot better. Definitely not a revver, but it's got good low & midrange torque, and is a good engine as long as you're not doing a lot of towing or hauling all the time.  

I've actually seen guys build the 4.3. I think Hot Rod did a tech story on building up the 4.3, and I think they got more than 300 horses out of it, all-motor.

All things being equal, if you were building a truck for power, you'd still be better off starting with a V-8, but you're not completely SOL if you have a 4.3.  

06 Silverado with a 4.3? Man that thing must be a dog. Didn't know they even offered that in that truck.

I have never been a fan of the 4.3.. but eh... to each his own. I know the Vortec ones had intake gasket failier problems, the pre-vortec ones were down on power, I mean it was a decent motor for the S-10 but in a fullsize?  

Hey Off-Road, don't be so hard on the guy! He's got what he's got. Shoot, I've only got a little 4-banger Mazda commuter. I know it's never going to be a Ferrari, unless I'm willing to spend Ferrari-level money on it. The 4.3 is a perfectly respectable engine, just like the old 4.9L Ford straight-six. I mean, if a guy was really determined, he could build it up like the Syclone/Typhoon motor. Those things were monsters!

However, for the amount of money you'd probably have to spend on the six to get it up to V-8 power levels, an engine swap starts making sense.