eerr, well it's not a Mopar......
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NONONO.. Go for vx redtop cosco motor. mate with ford 5 speed, all the stuff is out there on the internet for this conversion. And there is a vx to ford company out there. The thing will fly! You can add a turbo like Westy on the ukstreetracer forum... Runs low 11's!
I am keeping this Mopar....... SOLD!
NAH go v6 essex, it's an easy fit! No body mods needed. MK4 Zody box with overdrive . The axle will take a lot of stick. Nothing like the brute torque of a six! you only need to use 2nd and 4th most of the time! Take the lock out switch of the overdrive and have 8 gears
.If you must go modern they do a rack kit, so you have a wider choice of engine and sump options.

On a budget the Pinto/Sierra 5 speed box will make a great daily.
I put a 2.0 Pinto in my 1600E and a 4.1:1 diff from a 1300 Super with a 2000E box and would easily keep up with my mates 3 litre Capri`s up to a ton when I ran out of gears
The old Essex sounds nice but does naff all to a gallon for no real performance gain IMHO..
The Vauxhall red top is a nice engine but would not be as cheap to do as the pinto route.
Good luck (you deserve some of that) and keep us posted..
I put a 2.0 Pinto in my 1600E and a 4.1:1 diff from a 1300 Super with a 2000E box and would easily keep up with my mates 3 litre Capri`s up to a ton when I ran out of gears

The old Essex sounds nice but does naff all to a gallon for no real performance gain IMHO..
The Vauxhall red top is a nice engine but would not be as cheap to do as the pinto route.
Good luck (you deserve some of that) and keep us posted..

I'm just a period modifying old fart, the Essex sounds sooooo sweet with a pair of glass packs. Plus less engine management issues to stay on top of; had enough of that on other people's cars. Don't get me wrong when they work right they are great, but when they go wrong it can be a nightmare and time consuming 
