rebuilding a 273 180 HP engine

cudamark said

If it just blows a little smoke on start-up, you probably just need a new set of valve seals. As far as rebuilding one, except for pistons, it's virtually the same as all the other small block rebuilds. Any listing for a 318 or 340 will use the same bearings, cam, lifters, and most gaskets and seals. Some 360 parts are the same too but not all. Check with Summit, PAW, Jegs, Mancini, Mopar Performance, etc. for prices and availability.

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Right on Cudamark. That's a great place to start. There is a very good chance that the seals are originals if there's any seals left. A compression test will help you figure out whether you need a overhaul. A leakdown test works great too.
I rebuilt my HP 273 last winter and used the Egge HP pistons. They aren't 10.5/1 right out of the box. I shaved the heads and used a thinner Mopar Performance head gasket and ended up with a bit over 9.5/1 compression. I used a Isky E-4 cam which I found to be as close to stock HP specs as I could find. The whole project cost around $3000 and was a lot of fun to do.
Here's a link to my build. http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=94343
toolman