Quote:

Its alot of work changing over to a big block.



Not really. Most of his 318 stuff would need to be replaced anyway. His stock 904 transmission won't take any serious HP. To swap the big block in you're need a set of readily available motor mounts, new rad which you'd want anyway if you built a hot small block, new transmission, shorter driveshaft, then just the nuts and bolts. I dunno, I swapped a small block magnum into a 6cyl jeep wrangler and didn't think it was too bad a job, so calling a challenger SB to BB swap a "lot of work" seems laughable to me.

Quote:

Have you considered a 383? They are more easy to find than a 440 and cheaper in price.



Waste of time and money IMO. Even if he was to buy a rebuildable core 383 for 150 bucks versus a core 440 for 600 bucks, that $450 cost difference is a drop in the bucket by the time you have the rest of your parts bought and the engine built. Better piston choices for the 440 and the rest of the parts/labor will cost the same between a 383 and 440.

Drive the car as-is for now and build a 440 on the side. Or a 400 with a 440 crank = 451.