Personally, I am disappointed in your choice of vehicle for this Hellcrate. Please endure a couple of points I have to make.
The E body Cudas are absolutely a cool car; for sure its a good recipient of a 6.2 and yes, it would be worth more than the Dart when done. However, a decent Cuda to restore will cost you a lot more to begin with than a Dart. If for sure you could double (or more) the extra "investment" in the Cuda when done, it would validly the argument. From my view though, it will just be worth more by about the extra cost of the initial investment. A well restored Dart is no slouch in value when done right.
If you place a completed HC Cuda next to a completed S/S Dart clone with a HC under the hood, people (I believe) will like the HC Cuda, but they'll be expecting a BB Hemi under the hood of the clone car and get quite a surprise when they see the HC under the hood.
Personally, I like cars that are a little different and have a bit of a surprise or even wow factor to them. To me, a direct clone of a S/S Dart is just another of the many clones that are out there, but an S/S Dart with a HC has a surprise and wow factor to it.
Obviously the choice is yours. I just had to get my opinion out there about your situation. Thank you for listening. Lolol
I am getting the hellcat through the local dealer. I have done a ton of business with them so the price is right on the parts I buy. A small token of appreciation to the parts guy at Christmas doesn't hurt. They Chrysler parts computer said there were 165 hellcat crates sitting in the warehouse. The rest of the parts for the build are also available. They should land within the month. Interestingly enough I decided to stay with old school and am having my gen 2 hemi block built for this dart. Anyone have a 70-71 cuda they want to get rid of for the hellcat?? Thanks for the response.