BIG MOPAR, LIGHT WEIGHT
In the spring of 2013, we set out to equip our 1968 Plymouth Valiant project car with big-block Mopar power, something the lightweight A-Body compact never came with from the factory in any significant numbers. Big engines in lightweight cars are the secret to big performance, and we wanted to be a part of that, so we turned to the Mopar experts at Indy Cylinder Head for advice and inspiration. What started out as a desire for a junkyard rehab on a low-deck 383/400 wedge big-block turned into a full-blown Chevy-killer when Indy’s Ken Lazari informed us about the company’s aluminum alloy Indy Maxx block. Combined with Indy’s other performance-optimized breathing components, it looked like we might end up with a ground-pounding big-block Mopar that weighed less than the Valiant’s born-with slant-six.
Indy’s Ken Lazari says, “It is not much over about a $2,000 upgrade to any engine, so it’s not out of this world as far as extra cost,
