My opinion.. I would go with the newer hemi if possible. Sure it would cost more but in the end I think it would be worth it. I think with a mild cam, headers, intake, etc you would be more than happy with the engines power, street manners and better handling thanks to the lighter hemi engine. Ive seen new challengers run mid 12s with bolt ons while still being n/a. Your lighter car should be able to do that and then some with ease. Besides its always cool to show people that mopars do NOT require 440+ cube big blocks to keep up with the ford/chevy crowd...