Question about the price of 340s

i am a member of the "340 cult." i have two full motors and a third redone painted block. i street raced "the 340" when it was "first made" (1968). at the time, NOTHING from Ford, Pontiac, Olds, or Buick could beat it in a quarter mile taking all these cars right off the car hauler. only a "factory fresh" 68 corvette 427/435 tri-power (or L88) would send ANY mopar 340 A-body car back to the staging lanes. the reason was simple physics: a stock 340 was "a factory race motor" and could be safely wound to 6500 and the power/torque it produced was substantial in the light A-body chrysler cars. that motor in the A-body cars were a very balanced package. the cars launched well with minimum wheel spin allowing at least a car's length from other muscle cars of the day. then because the motor would go to 6500, this car length advantage could be sustained longer before the shifts happened in a 4 speed car. the same advantage could be gained in a torque flight car if you installed a "shift kit" upping the RPM shift points for the auto trans.

now, if you are going to race or abuse your car, DON'T install a 340 - they are too valuable these days (especially to guys who want to restore 68/69 A-body cars to "stock"). if you are going to run the risk of putting a connecting rod through the side of your toy's motor at some point, build a 318 or a 360. nobody cares about turning those blocks into boat anchors because there are "literally" millions of those engines around.

i wanted to send up just a "small" red flag here - and of course, represent my fellow "340 cultists" fairly.