Lost in Restoration

Hi Everyone,

I've been on this site many times, but this is my first time writing in. I've had many Mopars in my life, but this is my first restoration project.

My father and I have spent the last few years trying to find an a-body that we could turn into a sleeper. We finally found a '72 Plymouth Scamp which had its 318/904 setup replaced with a 360/727. It's got a lot of "leftover" parts on it, though: 318 exhaust manifolds, a 600 cfm Holley carb, and an Offenhauser 360 intake manifold.

I want to replace the 7 1/4 rear with an 8 3/4 rear that we picked up at a swap meet. It came with a 741 case and 2.76 gears, but I figure it has to be stronger than what I currently have. Neither of us have ever done an axle swap before, but we figure we have all winter to try and figure it out (there's not much else to do in Grafton, NY). If anyone knows of any good reference articles out there, let me know!

At this point, our budget is pretty much shot for the year. However, I did find a ton of parts in my dad's garage: We've got a set of J heads with the big valves and a stock intake manifold and Thermoquad from a '71 340. We've also got a set of high-performance 340 exhaust manifolds. I figure the exhaust manifolds are a good idea, but what about the rest? Will they provide any real improvement in performance? I'm not looking for 350-400 HP (not yet, anyway), but what can I do put some Muscle in this Mopar?

Thanks