318 Magnum vs the world
Magnum engines made a believer out of me in the early 2000s. I was a big block guy until 1999 when I built a '71 Demon with a 360LA. Had a bunch of fun with it, and I had a '68 Dart with a tired (but quick!) 400 BB and 4.30 gears. I cannibalized the Dart for parts and put a mildly modded 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee (warranty replacement core from the dealer) 5.2L and SB 727 in it. The engine was completely stock, just re-ringed and full groove mains added, HV oil pump, 270HR Comp Cam (.528" lift, custom item back then), MoPar .600" springs/retainers, Blue Racer roller rockers (pedestal Ford 5.0 rockers with MoPar style adjusters over the pushrods), M1 single plane intake and 750 vac. sec. Holley, cheap Hedman 1-5/8" headers and 2-1/2" duals with H-pipe and Afterburner mufflers. The biggest problem was the tight "175K" MoPar converter, rated at 2500 stall. The little motor struggled with leaving the line (2.0sec 60ft time!), but ran 8.20s @87mph in the 1/8mi. It did cruise good with the tight converter, even with the 4.30 gears, running 65mph on the highway all day long willingly. This was in 2002-3.