Owned a 71 Slant 6 Demon for 20 years, ?'s engine options

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C Galloway

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Apr 29, 2017
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Location
Coeur D Alene, ID
To make a long story long,
My Gpa got me into classic cars 30 years ago, Ive been to countless car shows with him and I was the cleaner. Until I hit driving age, then we bought a 76 Laguna S3. Which I loved, we did a light restoration on it, paint, body, tires, engine rebuild(from a shop). Well I wrecked it 3 months after that, rolled it in black ice, totalled. Next year he found a 71 demon not too far from where we lived. I wasnt immediately sold on it at 18 yrs old. It was a one owner, old lady, duster looking car, all blue inside and out with a slant 6... I wasnt sold. Test drove it, I said grandpa this thing is a slug, the S3 could do burn outs. He said yeah but this can make power with some work. So I went home and researched a little, saw the demon 340s and was like okay Im in. Well by the time we went back and bought it there was a wind storm, the tent covering it got blown over and the legs mashed one side of the car badly, easily 1 inch dents. So we bought it for 2k. I spent every weekend driving the 1.5 hrs to Gpas house and doin everything I could body wise and interior. I know ill get hate, but I detested the blue interior and the bench front seat. Found a camaro front seat set at a flea market when I was 22 and put those in there. Yes, this is not a show car. I finished all the body work and eventually got it painted. And to note it had always ran, Im not sure if well is correct but it drove, over heated, heat soaked etc.. but I was used to it. Fast forward a bit, I got a cool looking car, ofcourse dropped the front end, staggered tires...but my lord this is slower than an 80s corolla... Yes ive broken 100mph and it sounds fast and low to the ground... but..Id only spin the tires in the rain on a corner in the gravel lets be honest. Life moves forward, married, kids, divorced. Parked my well running besides heat soak demon at my friends house for 3 months... never ran again. towed it to my divorce house, towed it to my next married house and havent had time to do **** with it. And yes
Ive checked the basics, I replaced the alternator, tested spark, carb, cleaned up distributor, new coil... it will not start...

Here is the question. My new wife and our 5 combined kids, well have been struggling, Ive been working 65hrs a week and her similar. But now a pay day is in view.. My demon has been sitting looking amazing and not running for 6 years. To be honest my Gpa taught me body work, not engine work. I know very basics. I do know that I want more power and noise. What are my options and what does it take for each? Please share your thoughts. Im 40 now, spend most my time at work and remodeling the house we bought. Im tired of stacking **** on my demon. it deserves better
 
To be clear, What are my options here? Have the 225 rebuilt and gone through? Ive read if changing to v8 needs new k bars? I have so many newbie questions. Does that mean new tranny and drive line? How will that work with my 3 auto on the tree? Do I have to cut a hole for a new trans? I legit have no idea how to even start this other than getting the 225 rebuilt. If someone has a walk through guide on how to put a 360 in a 71 A body Id be blessed
 
Leave it a slant 6. It's cool, different, you don't see many slant Demons and they are cheap to build and maintain as long as you aren't racing them. Then they get expensive. "5 kids and struggling" doesn't sound like a good idea for a high dollar build. Payday or not.
 
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To be clear, What are my options here? Have the 225 rebuilt and gone through? Ive read if changing to v8 needs new k bars? I have so many newbie questions. Does that mean new tranny and drive line? How will that work with my 3 auto on the tree? Do I have to cut a hole for a new trans? I legit have no idea how to even start this other than getting the 225 rebuilt. If someone has a walk through guide on how to put a 360 in a 71 A body Id be blessed

Start at Magnumswap.com
That site will give you a pretty good idea of what you may be in for, even if you don’t want a Magnum.

I have a 5.9 Magnum and it’s matching 4 speed automatic overdrive with no floor cutting needed.

The slant is cool too.
You may want to just concentrate on getting that useable under the circumstances.
 
Not too bad to put in a V8. You have a 904 trans, and you can get a 904 for a small block. All the same connections and hardware will fit. Other than the throttle pressure linkage.

I'd run the slant if it's not worn out. If it needs a rebuild I'd dump that 6 like a bad habit.
 
To be clear, What are my options here? Have the 225 rebuilt and gone through? Ive read if changing to v8 needs new k bars? I have so many newbie questions. Does that mean new tranny and drive line? How will that work with my 3 auto on the tree? Do I have to cut a hole for a new trans? I legit have no idea how to even start this other than getting the 225 rebuilt. If someone has a walk through guide on how to put a 360 in a 71 A body Id be blessed
Well, it sounds like You're pretty busy, but I was going to suggest reaching out to @67Dart273 . He could use a hand restoring His crib post-fire, & You need an experienced assistant to see what the problem really is, since You're in the same town/area.....
 
I can't tell you what to do, cuz right away some joker will rail on me for being a 318 hater, it happens every time.

But I can tell you what I already did and why.
I built a very high compression, alloy-headed, 360, and bolted a Commando 4-speed to it, with a GVod behind it.
My goal was hi-performance for the street, and excellent fuel economy. I usually run a 3.55 in the back, in a narrowed rear housing, to fit 295s in the factory tubs. It took me three cams to get the engine right.
As for the 360;
Yes, the 360 is overkill, but it has the longer stroke, which can be exploited in every way. but, the 360 falls together very close to zero-deck. Mine required a cut of just .012 .
With 040 gaskets, and closed chamber alloy heads, the Squish was nearly ideal at 040.
But my first assembly was with 028 gaskets, and the Scr thus, was a tic over 11/1. This was gonna make great fuel mileage in my DD, 55 miles a day round-tripper. That's about 14,000 miles a year, just going to work and back. To that, I estimated another 6000 just hot-dogging, so to me, fuel economy was a big deal.
I chose the alloy heads cuz I was confident that I could run 87E10, and I was right. That alone saved me nearly 50 cents a gallon, back in year 2000, more as time progressed.
I choose a manual trans for it's purported fuel savings of ~2mpg.
I chose the Commando for it's 3.09 low gear, which allows the use of a lower rear gear, with no loss of First gear performance.
I chose the GVod for two reasons;
a) the perfect .78 ratio, which is about the same as exactly one more close-ratio gear in the main box. for
b) gear-splitting.
Gear-splitting, allows the use of at least one smaller cam size, with no loss of performance in the Eighth-mile. AND,
Well, at first, I used the Mopar F-body 3+1 gearbox. Splitting the gears in that box, gave me SEVEN fairly equal very close-ratio gears.
3.09-2.41-1.67-1.30-1.00-.73od. splits of
.78-.69-.78-.77-.78-.73.. With 3.55s in the back, the roadgears were
10.97-8.55-5.93-4.63-3.55-2.77-2.02,
65=2240 in GVod/and 1640 in double od.
I ran this combo with many different rear gears, up to 4.88s. In the end, after breaking three of those od boxes, and the fact that splitting gears "all the time" got boring; seven gears was at least two, too many.
But I learned a couple of things;
1) I really liked a starter gear of about 11/1, and not only that, I needed at least that much, to be able to parade it, more was better. and
2) my car and driving style really needed a Second gear of around 6.5>6.8 roadgear.
3) Three gears in the Eighth was really enough, but four scared the heck outta me, lol.
The Commando with 3.55s had the following Roadgears
10.97-8.56-6.82-5.32-4.97-3.88-3.55-2.77 Eight gears now, but, as you can see; 5.32 and 4.97 are very close to the same, as are 3.88 and 3.55.. Therefore I only ever use one of them, making 6 useable gears.
But notice that, I got my 10.97 First gear, and my 6.82 "Second" Gear, and a nice 5.32 for the Eighth. I don't do quarter-mile, but I think my combo would like the 3.88s.
and the bonus was that I could run it as a 4-speed, with ratios of
10.97-6.82-4.97-2.77 splits of .62-.72-.78-.56od. and 65=2240
So, this turned out to be very versatile.

The key to making this combo work, is the cam.
I chose a Hughes HE2430 AL; which @050, was 223/230/110.
The advertised was 270/276/110.. At 11/1Scr, my little 367, made a lot of pressure, but it still burned 87E10 with full advance. Especially that first summer, after the 292/292/108 cam came out, cuz at that time, she was at 11.3, on account of the 028 gasket. 028 squish. My gauge was reading right around 200psi.
But, at tear-down that first winter, for inspection, it was discovered that the 028 gasket was just hanging on, and about to blow into the valley. I just caught it.
I made some changes to run the 039 FelPros @ 032 squish, and that was that, no more gasket troubles.
This combo made gobs and gobs of torque/power/and fuel-economy/ and tirespin. I quickly worked my way thru two sets of 275 tires, and ultimately narrowed my rear, moved the springs and installed 295s. Later, with a lil more fitting, it was discovered that 325s would fit inside the wheelhouses, but I could no longer fly around 90* city corners at 35mph, with the tires on fire. No big deal, cuz 325s look good even when the car is not moving, lol.

Do you need a 360?
No, but just try to get a 318 up to 200psi.
Do you need 200psi?
No but just try to get 32mpg at 155psi on 87E10.
Do you need a GVod?
No, but just try to get performance with 2.73s, which are required to get the Rs down for fuel-economy.
Can you use the Mopar od box with a 318?
Sure, but, it's a 3+1 box, so yur gonna need the exact right rear gear to make it work, and lots of cylinder pressure, if you want performance in any other gear except first.

and yes you can use a 273 for a lil extra fuel economy, and you can bolt an AX15 to it for a nice 5-speed, but you'll need an adapter.

And yes, if you really want to keep it as an auto, any SBM will work, but, the smaller the engine, and the bigger the cam, the higher will need to be the stall, and or rear gear....... so again, that leads to an overdrive ....... or a two-speed rearend; I almost bought one of those!

If you just want a modest amount of performance, I would still go with a high-pressure 3.58stroke 360, but with a small/tiny cam, with an early-closing intake valve. The bigger engine and higher pressure will allow the use of much smaller rear gear than is generally used, say a 2.76 for 65mph=2240 in Drive-LU. That would make for a cheap build; you can probably even use a 904/998/999 and a 7.25; I have; but with a 318-cammed very high-pressure 340 and "skinny" street tires. (The 904 died first).
As for opinions;
Yes; I would use a 318, but it'll cost more to do less, and won't suffer the wrong combinations of ; cylinder pressures, stall, or various gears. and
Yes, I would use a 273 in a lightweight-A, with same warnings as above, and of course, with lowered expectations.
Or
I'd just supercharge a low-compression 318. and then it hardly matters about anything else. It don't take much boost to blow the tires off. Ima thinking headers, a remote mount turbo, turbo-specific cam. and big-port heads............
You asked for opinions, so there it is.
 
To be clear, What are my options here? Have the 225 rebuilt and gone through? Ive read if changing to v8 needs new k bars? I have so many newbie questions. Does that mean new tranny and drive line? How will that work with my 3 auto on the tree? Do I have to cut a hole for a new trans? I legit have no idea how to even start this other than getting the 225 rebuilt. If someone has a walk through guide on how to put a 360 in a 71 A body Id be blessed

k-frame does not need to be changed to put a v-8 into the car. just need schumacher conversion mounts.. bolt in deal..

trans wise.. do you have a three ont he tree (manual trans)? or an automatic on the column? if manual you'll need a v8 bellhousing.. if automatic toy'll need the v8 trans. no cutting involved.

a V8 swap is easy as hell and well worth it in my opinion but withthe questions you have posted your best bet may be to keep the slant six.
 

If you don't have a lot of time and energy to pour into the project, find a few local Mopar fans and get the slant six running. If you can get the motor to turn freely, either with the starter or turning the crank pulley with a breaker bar, there's only so much that can be wrong to keep a slant six from running. And once you have it running, you can decide if you want more.

As for a built slant six, you can get a little more out of this motor with some basic tweaks like a two barrel carb, but getting a lot out is going to require a lot more money, determination, and a willingness to chart your own path. On the other hand, you'll have the only one like it at car events.

A small block V8 can get more power for less money than a slant six, although it's still going to be considerably more than fixing the motor you have. You will need a V8 transmission to match. Most of the other upgrades talked about like brake and suspension work, well, you'll probably want those with a built slant six too.
 
I can't tell you what to do, cuz right away some joker will rail on me for being a 318 hater, it happens every time.

But I can tell you what I already did and why.
I built a very high compression, alloy-headed, 360, and bolted a Commando 4-speed to it, with a GVod behind it.
My goal was hi-performance for the street, and excellent fuel economy. I usually run a 3.55 in the back, in a narrowed rear housing, to fit 295s in the factory tubs. It took me three cams to get the engine right.
As for the 360;
Yes, the 360 is overkill, but it has the longer stroke, which can be exploited in every way. but, the 360 falls together very close to zero-deck. Mine required a cut of just .012 .
With 040 gaskets, and closed chamber alloy heads, the Squish was nearly ideal at 040.
But my first assembly was with 028 gaskets, and the Scr thus, was a tic over 11/1. This was gonna make great fuel mileage in my DD, 55 miles a day round-tripper. That's about 14,000 miles a year, just going to work and back. To that, I estimated another 6000 just hot-dogging, so to me, fuel economy was a big deal.
I chose the alloy heads cuz I was confident that I could run 87E10, and I was right. That alone saved me nearly 50 cents a gallon, back in year 2000, more as time progressed.
I choose a manual trans for it's purported fuel savings of ~2mpg.
I chose the Commando for it's 3.09 low gear, which allows the use of a lower rear gear, with no loss of First gear performance.
I chose the GVod for two reasons;
a) the perfect .78 ratio, which is about the same as exactly one more close-ratio gear in the main box. for
b) gear-splitting.
Gear-splitting, allows the use of at least one smaller cam size, with no loss of performance in the Eighth-mile. AND,
Well, at first, I used the Mopar F-body 3+1 gearbox. Splitting the gears in that box, gave me SEVEN fairly equal very close-ratio gears.
3.09-2.41-1.67-1.30-1.00-.73od. splits of
.78-.69-.78-.77-.78-.73.. With 3.55s in the back, the roadgears were
10.97-8.55-5.93-4.63-3.55-2.77-2.02,
65=2240 in GVod/and 1640 in double od.
I ran this combo with many different rear gears, up to 4.88s. In the end, after breaking three of those od boxes, and the fact that splitting gears "all the time" got boring; seven gears was at least two, too many.
But I learned a couple of things;
1) I really liked a starter gear of about 11/1, and not only that, I needed at least that much, to be able to parade it, more was better. and
2) my car and driving style really needed a Second gear of around 6.5>6.8 roadgear.
3) Three gears in the Eighth was really enough, but four scared the heck outta me, lol.
The Commando with 3.55s had the following Roadgears
10.97-8.56-6.82-5.32-4.97-3.88-3.55-2.77 Eight gears now, but, as you can see; 5.32 and 4.97 are very close to the same, as are 3.88 and 3.55.. Therefore I only ever use one of them, making 6 useable gears.
But notice that, I got my 10.97 First gear, and my 6.82 "Second" Gear, and a nice 5.32 for the Eighth. I don't do quarter-mile, but I think my combo would like the 3.88s.
and the bonus was that I could run it as a 4-speed, with ratios of
10.97-6.82-4.97-2.77 splits of .62-.72-.78-.56od. and 65=2240
So, this turned out to be very versatile.

The key to making this combo work, is the cam.
I chose a Hughes HE2430 AL; which @050, was 223/230/110.
The advertised was 270/276/110.. At 11/1Scr, my little 367, made a lot of pressure, but it still burned 87E10 with full advance. Especially that first summer, after the 292/292/108 cam came out, cuz at that time, she was at 11.3, on account of the 028 gasket. 028 squish. My gauge was reading right around 200psi.
But, at tear-down that first winter, for inspection, it was discovered that the 028 gasket was just hanging on, and about to blow into the valley. I just caught it.
I made some changes to run the 039 FelPros @ 032 squish, and that was that, no more gasket troubles.
This combo made gobs and gobs of torque/power/and fuel-economy/ and tirespin. I quickly worked my way thru two sets of 275 tires, and ultimately narrowed my rear, moved the springs and installed 295s. Later, with a lil more fitting, it was discovered that 325s would fit inside the wheelhouses, but I could no longer fly around 90* city corners at 35mph, with the tires on fire. No big deal, cuz 325s look good even when the car is not moving, lol.

Do you need a 360?
No, but just try to get a 318 up to 200psi.
Do you need 200psi?
No but just try to get 32mpg at 155psi on 87E10.
Do you need a GVod?
No, but just try to get performance with 2.73s, which are required to get the Rs down for fuel-economy.
Can you use the Mopar od box with a 318?
Sure, but, it's a 3+1 box, so yur gonna need the exact right rear gear to make it work, and lots of cylinder pressure, if you want performance in any other gear except first.

and yes you can use a 273 for a lil extra fuel economy, and you can bolt an AX15 to it for a nice 5-speed, but you'll need an adapter.

And yes, if you really want to keep it as an auto, any SBM will work, but, the smaller the engine, and the bigger the cam, the higher will need to be the stall, and or rear gear....... so again, that leads to an overdrive ....... or a two-speed rearend; I almost bought one of those!

If you just want a modest amount of performance, I would still go with a high-pressure 3.58stroke 360, but with a small/tiny cam, with an early-closing intake valve. The bigger engine and higher pressure will allow the use of much smaller rear gear than is generally used, say a 2.76 for 65mph=2240 in Drive-LU. That would make for a cheap build; you can probably even use a 904/998/999 and a 7.25; I have; but with a 318-cammed very high-pressure 340 and "skinny" street tires. (The 904 died first).
As for opinions;
Yes; I would use a 318, but it'll cost more to do less, and won't suffer the wrong combinations of ; cylinder pressures, stall, or various gears. and
Yes, I would use a 273 in a lightweight-A, with same warnings as above, and of course, with lowered expectations.
Or
I'd just supercharge a low-compression 318. and then it hardly matters about anything else. It don't take much boost to blow the tires off. Ima thinking headers, a remote mount turbo, turbo-specific cam. and big-port heads............
You asked for opinions, so there it is.
Awesome man thank you!
 
I've got updates! Thanks to 67Dart273, we have gotten the demon back out on the road. Dell was willing and able to come out to my house and give me a hand getting this thing running again after 5 plus years of being a brick in the shop. We have driven it every weekend now, multiple hour trips and no issues at all, well besides vapor lock after driving it and parking it and trying to start it again. But I'll be moving the fuel lines this weekend to remedy that. 67Dart273 checked dwell, replaced points and condenser, timming...etc along with finding the voltage regulator was shot. So happy to have this forum to lean on and connect me with 67Dart273. Attaching some photos

20250330_153232.jpg


20250330_153245.jpg


20250330_153257.jpg


20250330_184537.jpg
 
I've got updates! Thanks to 67Dart273, we have gotten the demon back out on the road. Dell was willing and able to come out to my house and give me a hand getting this thing running again after 5 plus years of being a brick in the shop. We have driven it every weekend now, multiple hour trips and no issues at all, well besides vapor lock after driving it and parking it and trying to start it again. But I'll be moving the fuel lines this weekend to remedy that. 67Dart273 checked dwell, replaced points and condenser, timming...etc along with finding the voltage regulator was shot. So happy to have this forum to lean on and connect me with 67Dart273. Attaching some photos

View attachment 1716400342

View attachment 1716400343

View attachment 1716400344

View attachment 1716400345
Nice looking Demon. Thanks to Dell for the assistance.
 
I can't tell you what to do, cuz right away some joker will rail on me for being a 318 hater, it happens every time.

But I can tell you what I already did and why.
I built a very high compression, alloy-headed, 360, and bolted a Commando 4-speed to it, with a GVod behind it.
My goal was hi-performance for the street, and excellent fuel economy. I usually run a 3.55 in the back, in a narrowed rear housing, to fit 295s in the factory tubs. It took me three cams to get the engine right.
As for the 360;
Yes, the 360 is overkill, but it has the longer stroke, which can be exploited in every way. but, the 360 falls together very close to zero-deck. Mine required a cut of just .012 .
With 040 gaskets, and closed chamber alloy heads, the Squish was nearly ideal at 040.
But my first assembly was with 028 gaskets, and the Scr thus, was a tic over 11/1. This was gonna make great fuel mileage in my DD, 55 miles a day round-tripper. That's about 14,000 miles a year, just going to work and back. To that, I estimated another 6000 just hot-dogging, so to me, fuel economy was a big deal.
I chose the alloy heads cuz I was confident that I could run 87E10, and I was right. That alone saved me nearly 50 cents a gallon, back in year 2000, more as time progressed.
I choose a manual trans for it's purported fuel savings of ~2mpg.
I chose the Commando for it's 3.09 low gear, which allows the use of a lower rear gear, with no loss of First gear performance.
I chose the GVod for two reasons;
a) the perfect .78 ratio, which is about the same as exactly one more close-ratio gear in the main box. for
b) gear-splitting.
Gear-splitting, allows the use of at least one smaller cam size, with no loss of performance in the Eighth-mile. AND,
Well, at first, I used the Mopar F-body 3+1 gearbox. Splitting the gears in that box, gave me SEVEN fairly equal very close-ratio gears.
3.09-2.41-1.67-1.30-1.00-.73od. splits of
.78-.69-.78-.77-.78-.73.. With 3.55s in the back, the roadgears were
10.97-8.55-5.93-4.63-3.55-2.77-2.02,
65=2240 in GVod/and 1640 in double od.
I ran this combo with many different rear gears, up to 4.88s. In the end, after breaking three of those od boxes, and the fact that splitting gears "all the time" got boring; seven gears was at least two, too many.
But I learned a couple of things;
1) I really liked a starter gear of about 11/1, and not only that, I needed at least that much, to be able to parade it, more was better. and
2) my car and driving style really needed a Second gear of around 6.5>6.8 roadgear.
3) Three gears in the Eighth was really enough, but four scared the heck outta me, lol.
The Commando with 3.55s had the following Roadgears
10.97-8.56-6.82-5.32-4.97-3.88-3.55-2.77 Eight gears now, but, as you can see; 5.32 and 4.97 are very close to the same, as are 3.88 and 3.55.. Therefore I only ever use one of them, making 6 useable gears.
But notice that, I got my 10.97 First gear, and my 6.82 "Second" Gear, and a nice 5.32 for the Eighth. I don't do quarter-mile, but I think my combo would like the 3.88s.
and the bonus was that I could run it as a 4-speed, with ratios of
10.97-6.82-4.97-2.77 splits of .62-.72-.78-.56od. and 65=2240
So, this turned out to be very versatile.

The key to making this combo work, is the cam.
I chose a Hughes HE2430 AL; which @050, was 223/230/110.
The advertised was 270/276/110.. At 11/1Scr, my little 367, made a lot of pressure, but it still burned 87E10 with full advance. Especially that first summer, after the 292/292/108 cam came out, cuz at that time, she was at 11.3, on account of the 028 gasket. 028 squish. My gauge was reading right around 200psi.
But, at tear-down that first winter, for inspection, it was discovered that the 028 gasket was just hanging on, and about to blow into the valley. I just caught it.
I made some changes to run the 039 FelPros @ 032 squish, and that was that, no more gasket troubles.
This combo made gobs and gobs of torque/power/and fuel-economy/ and tirespin. I quickly worked my way thru two sets of 275 tires, and ultimately narrowed my rear, moved the springs and installed 295s. Later, with a lil more fitting, it was discovered that 325s would fit inside the wheelhouses, but I could no longer fly around 90* city corners at 35mph, with the tires on fire. No big deal, cuz 325s look good even when the car is not moving, lol.

Do you need a 360?
No, but just try to get a 318 up to 200psi.
Do you need 200psi?
No but just try to get 32mpg at 155psi on 87E10.
Do you need a GVod?
No, but just try to get performance with 2.73s, which are required to get the Rs down for fuel-economy.
Can you use the Mopar od box with a 318?
Sure, but, it's a 3+1 box, so yur gonna need the exact right rear gear to make it work, and lots of cylinder pressure, if you want performance in any other gear except first.

and yes you can use a 273 for a lil extra fuel economy, and you can bolt an AX15 to it for a nice 5-speed, but you'll need an adapter.

And yes, if you really want to keep it as an auto, any SBM will work, but, the smaller the engine, and the bigger the cam, the higher will need to be the stall, and or rear gear....... so again, that leads to an overdrive ....... or a two-speed rearend; I almost bought one of those!

If you just want a modest amount of performance, I would still go with a high-pressure 3.58stroke 360, but with a small/tiny cam, with an early-closing intake valve. The bigger engine and higher pressure will allow the use of much smaller rear gear than is generally used, say a 2.76 for 65mph=2240 in Drive-LU. That would make for a cheap build; you can probably even use a 904/998/999 and a 7.25; I have; but with a 318-cammed very high-pressure 340 and "skinny" street tires. (The 904 died first).
As for opinions;
Yes; I would use a 318, but it'll cost more to do less, and won't suffer the wrong combinations of ; cylinder pressures, stall, or various gears. and
Yes, I would use a 273 in a lightweight-A, with same warnings as above, and of course, with lowered expectations.
Or
I'd just supercharge a low-compression 318. and then it hardly matters about anything else. It don't take much boost to blow the tires off. Ima thinking headers, a remote mount turbo, turbo-specific cam. and big-port heads............
You asked for opinions, so there it is.
Huh....
 
I've got updates! Thanks to 67Dart273, we have gotten the demon back out on the road. Dell was willing and able to come out to my house and give me a hand getting this thing running again after 5 plus years of being a brick in the shop. We have driven it every weekend now, multiple hour trips and no issues at all, well besides vapor lock after driving it and parking it and trying to start it again. But I'll be moving the fuel lines this weekend to remedy that. 67Dart273 checked dwell, replaced points and condenser, timming...etc along with finding the voltage regulator was shot. So happy to have this forum to lean on and connect me with 67Dart273. Attaching some photos

View attachment 1716400342

View attachment 1716400343

View attachment 1716400344

View attachment 1716400345
That's a nice lookin car! Del's a great guy. Learn all you can from him.
 
If you do decide to install a small block, make sure and accumulate all your parts and get them ready to install. Nothing kills a project more, besides lack of money, than a car that just sits there and doesn’t run. When you have all the pieces ready to go, the downtime will be minimal. Budget wise, figure on at least 30% to 40% more cost than you accounted for.
 
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