What you all think about putting an old 392 hemi

As far as weight goes, they aren't as bad as the official numbers suggest. There is a lot of weight on the old motor that people nowadays just eliminate. The old intake for instance is super heavy. Just replace it with aluminum and you save 30 lbs. No one runs the original heavy water pump either.. etc. By using lightweight aftermarket accessories, you can take the weight down to a little more than a stock 440. Replace the heads with aluminum and you go down to the weight of a stock small block.

I put a 392 into my '68 Barracuda back in 1981. I was a 16 yr old kid and didn't really build the motor, used terrible hard rubber bias plys, and it went high 13's in the 1/4 mile. The biggest compromise was the exhaust on the left rear. It comes out right on top of the steering column. Because of that you have to raise the motor high to get clearance, and it is still bad. The only good option is to move the steering column and use the alterkation setup.

However, I have seen relatively clean installs of a 354 or 331 hemi. They are just enough narrower that they can barely fit with a custom header over the steering column. Dodge hemis are even narrower. If I were to do it again, I would definitely use a 354 or other smaller hemi instead.