66 Dart 360 Swap Questions
Ok, so from what i'm getting is that i'm a little in over my head in terms of 360 swapping the dart. If the slant already in the car turns out to be rebuildable, what can I do to it to get it over 200hp? And with what budget would this be achievable?
it really boils down to what your level of mechanical skill and resources are. if this is your first old car and first mopar, then it might be deep waters for you. not saying it can't be done, but without traveling that road previously you'll be out of your element.
just doing up a motor can easily be 3~5 grand, throw a transmission in there too so add at least another 1K easy money. then all of the peripherals: wiring, cooling, mounts, exhaust and it starts to add up quick-- the money and the work. then throw in the complexity of an early A body and that just takes the difficulty factor up another notch, along with the cost of doing business.
if it's your dream car, and you have another daily driver, and you've got 10K to blow? sure, go nuts. just don't forget to budget for brakes.
as for hopping up the six, tons of performance parts around. they respond well to the usual hot rod treatment of better exhaust and intake and bigger carbs. personally, i'd KISS and just hunt down a supersix (or other 2bbl) intake, get a header, and throw a cam at it. unless the motor needed a rebuild, that is.
then i'd turn to brakes and suspension knowing anything that i upgrade could potentially compliment a V8 swap down the line.