RLSH700

Well, a "Western Sport Special" I believe those were pretty rare. Welcome to the site! Looks very nice indeed. Go for the gold and drop in the 440, I mean why not use the better of the two.

70Chally

Thanks! Here's some info on it from elsewhere on this forum:

Mine has all the above options, except for one deviation: mine has the Magnum wheels instead of the Rallyes. I checked the fender tag and it's definitely an "A91" coded car. Mine also has factory AC and a split bench. It's basically optioned out like an R/T except for the hardware (all "show" and no "go").

As far as rarety, I found these production numbers on the web:
225 Slant Six = 145
318 2V = 1,066
340 4V = 1
383-2V = 381

So mine's one of the 1066 cars that came with the 318. That makes it somewhat unusual, and in my eyes a little more desirable than a garden-variety base-model, but still not as valuable as a T/A or R/T. I like the fact that it's an uncommon option and an unusual color combo; that's why I want to keep the body & interior mostly stock (although I'm thinking of adding an R/T hood), but bolt-on imnprovements (like the brakes, engine, & trans) are fair game. I honestly don't care much for the latest trend of big wheeled cars, etc., so this one's going to be more of a "resto-rod". Besides, the "Western" decals on the rear fenders are a conversation starter with people who have never heard of it.

I'm leaning toward the 440 myself. I know the big blocks have a different bellhousing bolt pattern, but I found out this car has a 904 auto, so I'd have to put a 727 in there either way. The only real advantage to keeping a small block in it would be that I could reuse the pulleys & brackets from the old motor. The only problem with the 440 is that it's out of a motor home, so I know I'll need to change a lot of parts to make it work.

lear4406

I've seen a few articles in Hot Rod type magazines that freshen up the old motor home 440. And they use the cast crank and the smog heads. The power adder was cam, springs, and headers. The power output was quite remarkable for just what they did. You can use the trans from the motor home and motor mounts can be bought that make it a bolt in with the K-member you currently have in your Challenger. If you want to boost power a little more, bore the motor 30 over and up the compression to 10 to 1. That will put you over 400 HP at the crank. And from what I've read, the crank holds up quite nicely. So go for it and make it what you want it to be. Good luck.