Project Raven, our 1983 Imperial coupe, has had a nice winter slumber. A combination of winter weather, holiday season fun and anger at what was found when the 323ci V8 was disassembled combined to keep the silver brick in the shed for the winter as I sat back and tried to decide how I wanted to go about replacing the boat anchor that was the 323ci. Since that motor proved to be about as useful as a eight-spot flower pot, I had decided that not one more cent would go towards saving it and instead chose to focus on a bigger and better replacement idea. Originally, that was intended to be a 360 build. That would require the least amount of work to get going, wouldn’t require any modifications to the car outside of some minor wiring and a new kickdown linkage, and theoretically would be cheap to do. But the more you look into building an LA-motor Chrysler, the more problems appear. That’s not to say you can’t build a nasty small Chrysler…just that you will spend a bit to do it. To make an LA-Chrysler really come to life, you need good flowing heads, something that’s difficult to find from the factory. There are plenty of aftermarket options for good heads, but the budget becomes an issue at that point.

I also looked for a third-gen Hemi swap. No, seriously…I’m aware of two J-body Mopars that are getting new Hemis, and one of them is using most of the stock J-body suspension. A minimum of 345 horsepower and near 400 ft/lbs of torque before tweaking would suit me fine, the curb weight between the Imperial and the 300C is close, and the benefits of a late-model powertrain are already well known. But again, there are expensive problems here: I’d have to keep the newer car’s gauge package for monitoring concerns, or I’d have to pay for a “dumbing down” setup for the Hemi. Additionally, I’d need to completely re-do the fuel system of the car to handle EFI duties.

Annoyed, I started Craigslist hunting around early January to see what was out there. I decided that I’d only buy and engine and trans combination since I need a transmission as well (never mind the moment I wound up buying a 727 meant for a 4WD Dodge truck sight unseen.) After narrowly missing a 360/727 by a matter of hours and a 5.7/545RFE combination by two days, I found a gem in the form of a 400ci big block and 727 out of a 1975 Dodge Coronet. The ad had several big block Mopar engines listed, so I called, and the guy cut a deal for $400 for everything. A couple hours’ drive north and a quick dig through a semi trailer filled with engines, transmissions and parts galore, and I was on my way home with the prize. So far, a good Gunk bath and a rinse has cleaned up the block nice on the outside, and I’m starting the teardown now to see what all is needed to bring it back to life. Why a 400ci smog motor? Easy: in the weakest form, these things churned out 315 ft/lb of torque at the crank, which is, sad to say, at least 50% better than the 323ci, and small modifications will warm up the motor nicely. Or, if I win a small Lotto, we can go straight off into the deep end and do a 451 stroker build. Just remember, “budget” is the game here.

This won’t be my first FMJ big-block swap, but by picking a B engine (383-400) versus an RB motor (440), I should be able to avoid…or at least minimize…fitment issues. Since there have been quite a few Aspen/Volare swaps over the years, there are parts and pieces out there, and Schumacher makes bolt-in engine mounts, so the K-frame can stay put. I may even have headers to fit the application! Cooling the 400 is a consideration, but hopefully a larger radiator coupled with an electric fan can cure that ailment. We will be bringing in a specialist to look over the K-frame and subframes for weaknesses that need to be addressed before we put the engine into the car, and there is still plenty of other work to keep busy on between now and the first start. The clouds are darkening, the wind is whipping around, and the Imperial is about to get wicked.