273 or NOT 273?

I've given it more thought which is what I should've done to begin with. I, too, like the under dogs like the chevy 283/307, ford's 289 and the 318's. I guess the only reason why I was never a fan of the 273's was because of the lack of performance pistons and it's small bore
You have no clue. You can get anything you want for a 273, because they were a performance engine and still being raced in class racing. "Small" bore has little to hinder the performance to the level most people run. Run what you have, any Mopar engine can run very well if you know what level you want and build accordingly. Slant 6 to Hemi, they all have + and -.