Pretend I’m an idiot.

I had a 1988 5th Ave I hot-rodded the 318 a bit with. Roller-cam 318s were rated at 170 HP, 260 lb-ft NET. I made my own 2 1/4" duals off the stock manifolds (2" head pipes about 2' long off the outlets to keep the velocity up) and converted to a Performer intake with an old ThermoQuad, also got rid of the ELB/SCC and put in an MSD box and stock reman'd electronic distributor. I also changed the rear end to an 8 1/4" with 3.07 gears out of an XJ Jeep Cherokee like mine (stock was 2.21!!!). It scooted decent for being 3800 lbs but was still not much quicker than a modern economy car. I liked it though, kinda wish I kept that car but I really didn't have a need for it; super comfy interior with pillowtop seats and working automatic temp control for the heater and A/C (which also worked awesome) and pulled 18-20 MPG on the freeway.

A cam swap and headers would really wake it up, 250-300 HP should be pretty easy as the roller lifters, swirl-port heads and higher compression have a lot more potential than the older engines esp. late '70s those are the worst. I've also heard/read the production quality and tolerances got a lot better in the 1980s for the V-8s. Late-'80s roller cam engine is my personal choice for a core to build an LA SBM.