The MOPAR power myth?
I grew up with "MOPAR makes power."
When I got my first one i figured I would keep it all Ma, but now I just don't know.
The rear ends ain't great, so swap a 8 3/4 or 9" or 60.
Trans, ehhh.... Also just ok...
Let's be honest the bottom end, oiling, geometry, and heads are ehh....not the best...
The cost is stupid, so what the hell....
I'm 8K Into my 512 and it's not done. Aint even seen the machine shop yet....
Why?
Cost per HP just don't add up.
The dark side is calling....
Mopar meant power with what they came with off the showroom floor, for the range that most OE's were expected to perform in. Bowtie parts abound because they were
mandatory before they could compete with stock Smallblock competiton, Cleveland Fords being the cylinder head champs in the SB world, Mopars had superior valvetrains
(They weren't the only) compared to Chebby and can accept lots of cam w/o buying parts just to do it. Chevy's central main priority oil galley is the only
real superior
feature it has in the SB realm. When it comes to Bigblocks, Yeah, flow-wise they are not the best,..but they are as reliable as anything out there period. Mopar skipped
going any further on the BB because, well HEMI. You're building a 512 from parts and You're complaining about the price, that isn't Mopars fault, at least not the One
from 40 years ago.
"The rear ends ain't great".....what, a 7.25"? You bought a car with a 7.25" rear and started building a 512 to put in front of it & are disappointed it won't hold up?!?
I have brand X friends, They've broken 10 bolt Chebby rears with 14 second automatic 350's, WTF are You talking about?
ALL brands have economy duty rears that
"ain't great". Trannys do have their limits, there are brand X ones that are better, but race-prepping any of them costs $$$$ and I don't "price point" them so I can't
say what relative build costs are. I imagine an A727, C6, & THM400 all cost within' a few hundred fully prepped for a built 512ci mill.
If You want to pay Your way to fast w/o putting in the work to make it happen, crate engines are out there, but for Mopar it is getting smaller selection wise. A former
co-worker bought a "great deal" crate BB Chebby, cheap as dirt by God, 11 sec capable in His mid '70's Nova. Cammed it small to run reliably in the low 12's, solid cam,
blew up after 3 seasons. Oh, and after tanking the 12 bolt rear the 2nd time, He put a 9" Ford in it.
It seems that You think the HP/Reliability Fairies will follow Us because of the history of "Mopar Power".............................................things have changed 40yrs. later
.............or 20yrs. for that matter..........................................
