I have considered those types of options. And they are not off the table. What you say makes a lot of sense. The only reason I considered the 273 purchase mentioned before was it was advertised as a complete matching 1967 Cuda driveline - from air cleaner to transmission tail. That is an uncommon find. As soon as it broke down to be something else, the value dropped to a few hundred in my eyes - not even worth the effort to go get it.
An additional challenge is, at the time when I was negotiating this purchase, we did not even have a buildable block - although that may have changed since then. The 318 that is in the car right now was a junkyard motor bought in 1979 to replace the 273 - which her boyfriend had run out of oil. So this was a used engine 40 years ago. It is beyond tired now. It actually will start and run, but it has numerous bolt holes that are stripped and base issues that make me want to start with something in better condition. I can buy a nice 318 long block assembly far cheaper than I can build anything. The EGGE rebuilt kit is $1974 just for the parts. I can buy a moderately built long block 318 for $1750 with no core charge. But again, this is not my car and the sentimental factor is huge.
I really do appreciate the advice. Things will come together. My biggest concern is that whatever I do is done right. People have been putting this car back together the cheapest possible way for two decades and that's why it is not driveable. I refuse to do that. Any engine I drop in there better be ready to run for 150K miles.
