To recap on this thread, I want a 71 Demon with a 340 block in it (not hung up on numbers matching, if I find a Demon that was originally a 318 or slant car then I'll still do it the service of dropping in a 340). I'm aware the costs on my build will mount up with the direction I'm going, but I'm not one of the crowd that takes pride in the car being rusty and ratty so I'll flip a bit o coin to clean it up and give it a new lease on life (and if I don't do the work upfront then I know I'll end up doing it later, so I might as well do it upfront). Engine internals, I'm not sure about forged, figured that'd be something I can decide on later.
So far my options for trans are the T56 and the Passon 5spd (considered the gearvendors OD but I'm kinda iffy on that unit, don't know what its reliability is). The T56 hovers over $3K and the Passon over $4K, and while the Tremec requires raising the floor tunnel a bit the Passon last I heard has a mile long waitlist (what does that say about replacement parts if something breaks?).
Besides some upgrades in the performance area (brakes engine bits, trans), I wanna keep the look mostly stock. What I will do is put slightly bigger/wider tires on it (what will fit without raising or cutting wells) and swap in the rectangular speedo cluster from the 72.
I'm not hung up on PURE originality, I'm good with keeping the looks the same but if it's something like brakes or engine/trans I won't hesitate to upgrade (as far as my brake recommendations in past replies, I'm meeting them in the middle and planning to go full-disc manual).
I met a guy here in town awhile back, spotted his 69 Roadrunner. Got to talking about it, the shop in town that specializes in Mopar resto's, etc (
Graveyard Carz they got a tv show, go figure). He shows me all the work he did on it, and while at first glance it looks stock, he did some upgrades: electric fan, A/C, stereo+subs (original stereo still in just for show) and front disc brakes from a 73 Duster. Says they work way better than the stock all-drums, and like he said, "If you don't put money on stuff like brakes, why put in the work on it? It's just gonna end up in the junkyard again after you wreck it"
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