So, I've been thinking about this lately randomly and I'm trying to think of future drivetrain options for my Dart. In the future I think I'm going to stray from being the all-purpose jack-of-all trades sort of car and swap it over to a more dedicated autocross/road racing car (not necessarily competitively) that I can drive to the track and back if needed be. The reason for this change in direction is that I'm most likely going to buy a R/T or SRT8 Challenger to replace my DD when I graduate and that will be able to handle the road trips, reliability, spirited driving, and comfort department. I haven't worked on my Dart since September and have been halted anyways as I just shipped my spindles back for recall this past weekend.
My 273 seems to be on it's last leg. The compression was checked a year ago and it had low compression in one cylinder (#2 I think, somewhere around 60 psi while the others were 120-150 psi). There's occasionally a small cloud of smoke that pops up during the first couple minutes of driving when I'm on the gas. It leaks everywhere. I'm not sure what's not leaking.
The 904 is running fine-ish. It has a small leak and it won't shift into 1st when I manually try to change it, but besides that, it's seems fine and is shifting crisply.
The suspension will be setup with stiffened LCA's, Hotchkis TVS, Bilstein shocks (will go to a better one in the future), 1.06" T-bars, Dr Diff 13" Brembo-style front brakes, Dr Diff 11.7" Cobra Mustang rear brakes, 8 3/4 w/ 489 case/3.55 gears/Eaton TrueTrac, 18 x 9" wheels with 255/40/18" tires (going to try to make them fit) all around.
So, for short term options I was thinking about possibly finding a used 360 engine (maybe even a 318) and replacing the 273 with it. Idk much about engines and which are good; however, I think an LA should be fine. There seems to be quite a few trucks, vans, and motorhomes on CL with them (I know they're not necessarily "performance" engines). I don't see pulled engines quite frequently. I'd like it to be more of a pull the 273 out, drop the 360 in sort of ordeal. For the 904, I was thinking about rebuilding it and possibly adding a shift kit that way I don't have to cut the driveshaft again. From what I understand the rebuild process on those are fairly easy and affordable, plus I can order a more aggressive first gear. The exhaust would need to be redone as I've still got 273 manifolds, the driver's side exhaust tube was hammered to clear T-bars so it's about half the diameter, and it seems the exhaust system is flat on the bottom towards the front of the car (meaning it's bottomed out a couple times in its life).
Long term goals (2-3+ years from now) I'm unsure of what I want. The transmission I'm pretty much set on and would like to utilize is a T56 Magnum. I'm also pretty much set on 91 Octane as that's all you can find readily over in CA. It must have PS... There are 3 big engine swaps that pop into my head:
1) KISS... Mild 408 stroker w/ forged components. I believe the SCAT rotating assembly is fairly affordable. I think I'd be happy with something in the 9-10 CR range that makes 400-500 hp. That way if I wanted to add boost in the future, like turbos, I'll have room to build.
2) GEN III Hemi... It seems this swap seems to be getting more popular w/ more information popping up every month. The Hemi's have a huge power potential. I love almost everything about it except the tight fit. I've read lots about the Borgeson and TTI fitment issues with these engine components and that may be enough to push me away. I guess, if I really wanted to and was going ahead with this swap, I could try paying TTI a visit to make clearing headers as they're in Corona CA, I believe.
3) SRT4 Swap... This one's a little more complex and would require a little bit of ingenuity. They've been slowly taking off as a couple guys on FABO have started them. The stock intake would face the firewall and the downpipe would aim toward the core support when the engine is turned 90 degrees. So a lot of custom components may need to be made. Essentially, it would be lighter than the other two options and closer back to the firewall saving a lot of room. There are adapters for it to hook up to a sb bellhousing. However, I don't think I'll be able to pull much/enough power out of this one with 91 octane.
These are just some thoughts. I've also thought about a boosted Pentastar V6 (either a 3.5 or 3.6L); however parts are lacking and they already have over 10:1 compression making it more difficult to add boost to get more power. The pros to the V6 is it's a 60 degree, all aluminum block design. It's lightweight and will add some exhaust clearance to the T-bars. A bellhousing adapter would have to be made.
Idk... What are your thoughts? I'd like to keep it mopar and I like things that are different. I'm just picking at your guys' brains and hopefully you guys can pick mine. The long term items won't be addressed for a while so it's no pressure on me. Short-term stuff would be this summer's project. I'll have more free time and weekends available after March. Right now, I'm swamped.
