Your opinions on what I should do engine wise..

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Coryduran

Coryduran

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So, my dart has a 273 2bbl which is all stock. I like the car, and I like the mileage that the 273 gives me. But down the road (6 mos from now, a year, not sure) I want to get more power out of. No immediate plans to turn it into a drag car or anything, I mean that's for when I'm a bit older in a career and have another car as a daily driver, but I'd like to get some more power under the hood of the dart relatively soon even while it's my daily driver.

I had originally wanted to convert it to commando specs, but from what I've been hearing, that can be a long, difficult, expensive process. I've been told by some people that it would be cheaper to just drop a 318 or a 360 into the car.

I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to this. This is my second car, my first was a 2000 altima that died in 18 months, now I have this dart, and I am trying to learn as much as I can while I go along.

So now I'm stuck sitting here trying to decide what to do with the car. Retaining value isn't really all that important to me, as it is right now I don't know if I'll ever sell this car. But yeah, with my limited experience and skill (although I'll have some very skilled experienced people helping me) and with me trying not to spend too much money, what would be my best option for getting an engine that's pushing out 250 bhp or more?
 
Carb,intake,and hedders and duals,good ignition all bolt on not too expensive do one at a time,that will wake it up.
 
Yeah I was thinking of just trying to modify my current engine, start smaller, than maybe in a year or two start thinking about doing a full engine swap or something along those lines.

Still wanna hear what everyone else thinks! And thanks to everyone who can give some input. I can definitely always use it.
 
I am in the same boat as you, so after much thought I am going to replace the engine in my 66 barracuda with a 5.2 magnum out of a wrecked 1999 van, the 5.2 magnum is just a 318 with a roller cam 9.0:1 compression and way better heads, an eddelbrock air gap intake manifold (or the cheaper crosswind chinese copy) and 600 CFM 4barrel carb
 
Don't forget the new cam and LA front cover water pump etc.and torque convertor
 
While we're on the topic, do any of you have any idea where I could buy like, a carburetor for example, online for my engine? Summit racing only has reman 2 barrels. I mean I would like to find an online place I could find a 4 bbl on.
 
bigdemo1 said:
Don't forget the new cam and LA front cover water pump etc.and torque convertor
Click to expand...

stock cam should be more than adequate, internal balance so T/Q should work, 5.9 a.k.a. 360 are external balance (I am going with a 4 speed so I need to drill the crank) everything else can be found in the junk yard, oh yea magnum's were only found in trucks so you need to change the oil pan to a car pan

I have the engine and I will start a thread when I do the swap so I can point out any problems I run into and how I solve them
 
When I try to narrow it down to carburetors that would fit my engine, it only comes up with 2 barrels. But I could be doing it wrong.
 
look for 318's,also just search for LA engines as this will give broader results.keep in mind you will not need a big carb,a 500 on an aluminum intake will be big enough and don't forget to get 4-barrel kick down linkage or your trans won't last.
 
caferacerx said:
stock cam should be more than adequate, internal balance so T/Q should work, 5.9 a.k.a. 360 are external balance (I am going with a 4 speed so I need to drill the crank) everything else can be found in the junk yard, oh yea magnum's were only found in trucks so you need to change the oil pan to a car pan

I have the engine and I will start a thread when I do the swap so I can point out any problems I run into and how I solve them
Click to expand...
You need the long snout cam to drive the fuel pump unless you're going to run an electric.
 
Wait, will my transmission not last with a 318? Or will it not last with my upgrades to the 273? Confused lol.

Thanks alot though, like I said, just really new to all this.
 
Trans will be fine but you need the right kickdown linkage,simple part don't worry I simply brought it up as you stated you are new to this and I was hoping to cover some points for you.
 
My 273 has an Edelbrock performer 600cfm, intake manifold, and cam. It is by no means a race car but more of a strong cruiser. It feels powerful enough to be fun yet is mild enough for daily driving. This might be an affordable option you are looking for.
 
Would I ever get the 273 engine to a point where I need to worry about replacing the rear?
 
Also, any recommendation on a camshaft? Just a street performer better than the stock cam.

Keyword : budget!
 
If you want a "bolt-on" four barrel manifold for your early 273, you either need to find an old original one, sometimes an Edelbrock L4B pops up on Ebay, or you can check Offenhauser who still catalogs them:

http://www.exeterautosupply.com/Docs/Offenhauser catalog.pdf

Otherwise you can use a later 273-318-340-360 intake, but the bolt angle to the head are slightly different. Some people just hog them out to fit. I know there's members here who have done that.
 
How fast do you want it to be? The 273's can be made pretty quick and the only part that is more expensive than the other small blocks is the pistons really. As long as the motor is still rebuildable I would go that route. More compression, modern cam, 4bbl. carb. and intake, headers, and some head work and you would have a nice street screamer.
 
I'm not looking for anything insane. Just something to keep the 4 cylinder hondas and nissans in check, and something that can spin the tires easy. This car won't be seeing any track time any time soon, not for at least 5 years.
 
you know I sure am missing the California weather. Out here= Hot and humid as hell then 14 inches of rain in the last 2 days!
 
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