That does narrow the field. Now you need to decide if you're going to R & R the engine yourself, or have your mechanic do it.
Beyond that, any competent rebuilder can rebuild a stock 360. If on the other hand you want to improve the performance, then seek out a speed shop. And break open the piggy bank.
Oooof, that really drives home the point, break open the piggy bank. That just makes me think of the dollars I’d rather spend on track time. I’d like to maintain track time as my focal point for breaking open the piggy bank, cause I am sure track days call for that too.
Maybe I’ll have it rebuild as mostly stock. I’ll need to hire a professional to do it for me, unless someone wants to be my teacher through this project, for a nominal fee, which I doubt I’d find. I’ve only done basic maintence like brakes, alternator, oil changes, belts, etc. Also worked as a bowling mechanic for a couple years. (Those pinsetters are mostly just run on cams & gears, complete with a “gearbox” & clutch. That’s where I figured out that gearboxes & transmissions are the same thing.)
I’d love to get an aggressive cam, & whatever other adjustments needed to make that run right.
Ram air intake & headers just seem entirely necessary.
I’ve read the heads are the weak point on the Magnum, regarding port capacity. For that reason, I feel it can benefit from improvement in this area, such as porting the heads or something.
A lot of these terms are old to me but, new that I actually looked up on what they actually mean. This is the deepest I have dived into an engine’s finer workings, besides Donut Media videos like Science Garage, or Engineering Explained. I don’t think Top Gear really taught us much as far as details are concerned.
I’d like to have torque in the 400 range.
HP in the 300 range would be cool too.
My fear is that the budget will greatly limit my above performance & mods aspirations. As long as she can haul a 2,800 lb car for a 3 hour drive, each way, & a 30 ft rv trailer on rare occasions, that will have to do. Doing so with ease would be ideal. (I’m gonna need good brakes too!)
Regardless, as a speed demon at heart, a performance minded shop, as you had mentioned, sounds like a good fit for me. I don’t need a high-end, fancy shop though. Just some good honest peeps who speak in terms of performance, not gas mileage; passion over commuting, & overall enjoyment of automobiles.
Although I am still not sure which shop exactly to go to, thanks to your help, I now have been able to narrow my search to a competent rebuilder/speed shop. I appreciate all of the great feedback, and I welcome anymore anyone else has to offer. 🙏🏽
