Daily Driver.. LA318 vs 360 Magnum

As for the conspiracy theory, My cousin bought a used 71 Ford Pinto. German 1.6 engine with a manual transmission. It did not run right, so he brought it to me. I figured the carb was messed up, so I told him to go to Ford and buy a new one. He comes back with an "export only" carb. We put it on and the Pinto runs great, more power and his mpg goes from mid 20's to around 40. You figure it out...