I agree with you, the motor is overkill.
He's got it in the garage, so that's part of it.
I'm sure he's also thinking - If I'm going to all the effort of a swap, I want it to be over the top.
I agree that a complete earlier neon drivetrain would be easier. I'll try to sway him that way.
I think that a 500CC-900CC bike motor would be even better, but he's a Mopar car guy not a bike guy.
This is the type he's got... not sure it's this exact one, but similar...
Now you can see just how overkill an SRT would be...