I have a 68 valiant with a super 225. It has an offy intake and a holley 8007 390 carb and headers. My question is :
I want to build up a motor for it and I want to keep the original motor for the car because it only has 54,000 miles on it. I would like to buy a 6 from a scrap yard. which one should I buy ( 170 , 225 ). I would like to bore it out and and get it machined and do all that to it ...
or.... should I just do the work to the original motor. If I do, I would like to change the cam, which one should I go with.
I am not looking to race the car but I would like to smoke the tires once and a while. right now with the stock cam i have a real hard time doing that.
any ideas on how much it will cost to take a motor and rebuild it with decent stuff in it
thanks for your help
Chris

word around the board is that the comp cams 252s is good for low end torque and the 264s i believe is also a good choice.. I don't know the specifics, but alot of guys on Sl6.org use it..

more than likely 3.23 gears in the back will help you out also..

_________________
70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

It sounds like you've already started working on the existing engine? If you're just looking to smoke a tire now and then, and don't have to drive it every day, just get some really low rear end gears 3.55:1 , 3.91:1 , etc.
This will reduce your gas mileage and top speed for highway driving.

I'd save the bore and machine work for a few years down the road if something breaks.

You could spend weeks searching old posts for cam suggestions. There are several good names to buy from in addition to comp cams. You'll need to consider: future improvements, the car's primary use, your gearing, your driving style, and how deep your pockets are .

_________________
1980 Aspen 225 super six

We need more info about where you mostly drive, and wht tranny you have. There aren't that many cam places left to grind a slant bump stick (Crane dropped off the list a few years back, but left their profiles in the old online grind catalog...Ultradyne is good, but hard to get a hold of...), the 'easiest' ones to get are comp cams, Isky, and Engle. What's you budget? You are doing the 'smart thing' by getting a 'spare block' to work up so you can still drive your car while getting ready for the next step. If you have a 225, stick with that mill. The minimal guide lines to go by for your car are: mill to increase compression to 9:1, get better exhaust, if you have an automatic you'll want to change the 'guts' to a better 1st gear ratio (late wide ratio V-8 parts), and if 'daily driving' in town mostly stick with 3.23's....and a small cam like the Comp Cam 252,264 or the Isky would help.

Thanks for everyone's advice.
I haven't done much work to my motor, just put the intake and exhaust on. Although I would still like to buy a new motor, not sure when though.
Should I buy and rebuild the whole motor, block and head or do I just need the block?
Or... If I change the cam in my motor, do I have to do any work to the head? ( change the springs lifters, rods etc...)
I am not sure what the gears are in the tranny, but I know that it is a 904.
I am also not sure what my rear end gears are either.
Everything is stock, so the fender tag should have everything on there. I'm just not sure how to read all the #'s
( I will have to look tomorrow and get back to you)
I live here in Canada so my dollar wont go near as far as yours. I guess I am prepared to spend about $750. or so. I think a cam here would set me back about 150-250.

If anyone is interested in pics, I took some at a car show I was in on the weekend. I would have to email them because I haven't found a web site to post them on yet ( if you could help there It would be greatly appreciated too)
Thanks again