1966 273 Commando - Thoughts

Professor Fate said
350 horse out of a 273 is possible, but going to be a bit of a stretch at 1.28+ c.i./h.p.- and will take more than a distributor and headers. And when a motor that size is pushed to those power levels, it's going to get finickier and finickier...
They are fine, fun motors for a street cruiser, with enough spunk to get the job done when called upon; just don't get carried away with horsepower expectations. Even the special order 1966 "D/Stock" factory race Darts were "only" putting out about 275 horses as delivered...
IMO, a mildly upgraded Commando/Charger motor (which is what that engine appears to be, although the cam may be a hair large for your average cruiser 273) will meet all your expectations on the street- just don't get too hung up on HP numbers.
As far as sounding nice, the Commando/Charger 273 engines had one of the best sounding exhausts ever engineered- and it was a single!
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Excellent feedback, and I am def not hung up on HP. I was just tossing numbers. He suggested this was about 305-315 as it sits and I thought a set of headers and better dist might get another 25 out. But even if just 325 or 330 thats plenty for a small car like this and def good for cruising. The sound is what i am looking for and the cam should give it a good roll.

Just going through my options and ideas. Car is hopefully on the road for next season, although that might be a stretch, so motors are on the list but not top of the list. If someone said this was a "must have" i would do it. But there are plenty of 360's out there as well....and you never know. A 440 could make its way into the mix too.