360 magnum vs 5.7 hemi

I'm 17, and here's where I see it.

Go to the junkyard, and pull a 5.7L out of a Ram truck. Remove the computer, remove the funky ram-tuned SMPI intake manifold, remove the exhaust manfolds, remove the cam. In their place, throw on a good ol' dual-plane single-4-bbl. intake, some good headers, a hotter cam (more duration for the more "violent" power us muscle car guys like), and an ignition box to control the coil-on-plug system. Now bolt that up to a Tremec 5-speed and 8-3/4" rear with 3.55:1 gears and drop it in your classic A-body of choice. You will have a car that will run low 12's no sweat (with good tires, of course), and not sound like a blender. I know I used to be skeptical of the sound, but do a YouTube search for "XV Challenger" and watch the track-test videos; that cammed and carb'd 5.7L has all the raunchy induction noise and deep-throated roar of a 440 Six-Pack.

Obviously this is much more expensive than an LA SB build, or even a B/RB swap into an A-body; BUT, as time goes on and the market for classic hot-rodded modern Hemi's continues to open up, these engines will begin to be appreciated more and more and will be seen as a not-so-extreme swap.

I only like the new Hemi's for what they can be; rip-snortin' hi-po V-8's for our old hot rods with a practical, efficient side that won't have you towing a gas trailer just to cruise around the neighborhood.