And so we begin!

[bldeagle1]

Hi all, looking for any tips you may have as I begin my rebuild. 72 Top Banana Rallye 4 speed. California car, factory ordered without the vinyl top
The block was replaced at some point with a 77 vintage 360. The block tested good and has standard bores, and now Ted at Opel Engineering is prepping the block for me to put a 408 stroker kit into it with the help of Dave Hughes and the team at Hughes Engines. Since I'm restoring the car I figure I may as well go with fuel injection. I am sure many of you have been down this path,  so looking for tips or thoughts on the build.  Thanks!

[7212Mopar]

Post some pictures and tell us more on your plan beside the engine work. Lowest EFI cost is going with TBI but port injection is also available. Need to plan which way you want to go with the fuel system.

[JH27N0B]

Welcome from another Chicago area member!
I'll be interested in hearing your experience modding your 360.  I recently bought a Magnum GT with a 360 and although I am by no means wanting to build the engine into a screamer, I do want to have a reliable user friendly cruiser I can take on road trips doing 75 mph, so maybe an EFI conversion will be in my future.
Are you a Chicagoland Mopar Connection club member? I'm a long time member and go to most of their shows, usually in my Challenger 383 convertible or 71 Challenger 440 six pack.  I also attend a bunch of area cruises including Lombard, Mt Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Mundelein and even down to Morris, so hopefully we will cross paths next season! 

[ledphoot]

You will love the stroker with fuel injection.

Welcome aboard, there are so many great people here.

[Dakota]

While things will undoubtedly change over the course of your build, most of the good advice I've seen here over the year starts with some version of "what are you going to do with the car?" as that will determine what is in out of scope. 

I would encourage you to answer as many of the questions below ad you cam before you get too far. There's no wrong answer - it's your car so do it the way you want - but you'll find most parts for Mopars are expensive compared to other muscle cars so changing direction can be costly.

The really good news is that there are people here with experience on any item on this list and many many more, so just ask. 

A/C?   And if so, stock system or something like a Vintage Air unit?
Replace some or all of the wiring?  (If you have the $, I'd suggest doing it all).
Doing an ammeter bypass and adding relays to shift electrical load away from firewall?
Chassis stiffening?   US Car Tool is one approach, but there are others. 
Fuel injection (and then Throttle body or direct?) or carb?
If fuel injection, in tank pump or external (in tank is much quieter)
Brake upgrades?   Doing discs up front is pretty common, but the calipers may require bigger wheels.
Headers vs stock exhaust?
Going from manual to power for steering and/or brakes?
Desirable gear ratio (zoom off of dead stop, or lower RPM for highway speed?)

[ledphoot]

Dakota is giving some solid guidance, I will add a bit more.. The further you go from stock the less things will fit and the more challenging the journey will be. The end result may be a much more rewarding and enjoyable car but the path to get there will have obstacles. Things that should fit won't and you're going to be customizing stuff all over the place, adding time and money to the process. At least that's been my experience. My car is NOT stock.. 416 stroker, holley sniper fuel injection, five speed, QA1 suspension, 1.12 torsion bars, borgeson steering box, milodan oil pan, TTI headers, Vintage Air, tremec TKO 5 speed, Dr Diff 4 wheel disc brakes, Dakota Digital gauges, etc. etc. etc.... There was a LOT of frustration created by the stacked tolerances, had to modify the oil pan / headers, cut the floor for the tremec and a few other things. The end result is a car that drives more like a modern car. In the end only you can say what you want and determine if it's worth it

[bldeagle1]

While things will undoubtedly change over the course of your build, most of the good advice I've seen here over the year starts with some version of "what are you going to do with the car?" as that will determine what is in out of scope. 

I would encourage you to answer as many of the questions below ad you cam before you get too far. There's no wrong answer - it's your car so do it the way you want - but you'll find most parts for Mopars are expensive compared to other muscle cars so changing direction can be costly.

The really good news is that there are people here with experience on any item on this list and many many more, so just ask. 

A/C?   And if so, stock system or something like a Vintage Air unit?---------Non A/C car
Replace some or all of the wiring?  (If you have the $, I'd suggest doing it all)---------replacing all of it
Doing an ammeter bypass and adding relays to shift electrical load away from firewall?-------??? Will have to look into this.....
Chassis stiffening?   US Car Tool is one approach, but there are others---------Haven't looked at this yet
Fuel injection (and then Throttle body or direct?) or carb?-------------Definitely fuel injection, was looking at the Holley Sniper
If fuel injection, in tank pump or external (in tank is much quieter)---------in tank pump (the Holley one has the reg and sender with the pump that drops right into the sender hole, so no return line needed!
Brake upgrades?   Doing discs up front is pretty common, but the calipers may require bigger wheels.------------Car came stock with front disc
Headers vs stock exhaust?-----TTI Thermal barrier headers
Going from manual to power for steering and/or brakes?-----came stock with power steering and power brakes. May use external Vac pump for it/crankcase.
Desirable gear ratio (zoom off of dead stop, or lower RPM for highway speed?)-------still debating this, looking to build a "Hot" street car/cruiser. Stock rear gear is 3.23, I just rebuilt the 4-speed with all new gears (all stock ratios).

See my replies above

[ledphoot]

Replacing all the wiring is smart, good insurance
Bypassing ammeter and switching to voltage gauge is well documented and should be done
I'd also look at running LED headlights or putting in a headlight relay setup to lower the high amp loads coming through the bulkhead.
Highly recommend Holley Sniper EFI with in-tank pump
833 4 speed with 3.23's and a 408 stroker should be a solid combo
TTI Thermal Barrier headers are nice, don't change much in your suspension or oil pan and they should fit just fine.

I'd do some brake upgrades for two significant reasons. The average car in production today can out-stop your car and you are making your car capable of being much faster than it was stock. Sticking with the factory front disc / rear drums will put you at a distinct disadvantage on the street.

[7212Mopar]

I saw a few muscle cars rear ended others the last few years, mostly on highways. Brake upgrades will definitely help a lot to avoid this. People tends to brake like driving their regular cars. Just remember you still don't have ABS with these old cars. But then most of us don't drive these cars in the rain.