440 Sixpack Rebuild Advice Needed

[slapshot]

Putting a '70 V-code 'Cuda back on the road. It's motor has been sitting for like 30 years and am taking it into a machine shop to pull apart and rebuild as necessary. I have the original cast six-pack intake but the carbs and linkages are long gone. I plan to buy new holleys for it and run the stock exhaust manifolds. I am trying to keep the car stock however would like to increase the performance but without decreasing the value of the car from straying too far from stock but what is considered acceptable?
I will probably go with an HEI kit in the distributor for reliability and in keeping the the stock look.
When it comes to rebuilding the motor though- should I be using sixpack rods and such or better off with some aftermarket goodies? I would like to have more horsepower and torque with the stock look while trying to maintain the cars value. What do I keep- what should I be replacing?
I would appreciate any advice on what to have done to this motor and combos that will work best for a better than stock sixpack setup.
Thanks in advance,

[Jesus H Chrysler]

If you're putting new carbs on anyway, the guys at Promax have parts to make tuning easier.  If you're going for date coded show quality, they won't fly.

http://www.promaxcarbs.com/

If you have the original block still, and intend on driving it significantly, I personally would build up another engine.  Put the original one away and keep it safe.  That way you can keep all the original spec Six Pack parts intact, and build up an original looking engine with all the goodies hidden inside.  That way if there is a mishap you don't wreck a significant part of your investment.

[DocMel]

I have allot of experience in both the Holley Tri Power (Chevy speak)  and Six Pack set ups, both small and BB set ups. 

Get your original carbs rebuilt by a reputable rebuilder that knows what he is doing.   As far as the new holley six pack or tri power carbs that have been sold for the last 20 years or so form Holley, they do not have the proper metering plates, and they need some other minor work right out of the box to get them running in top shape. Yes, they will run OK out of the box, but the new ones  aren't set up like they were back in the day when sold on tri power or six pack equipped cars.  This includes most, it not all the complete and new holley six pack setup kits (carbs, air cleaner, linkages, the whole deal) that have been sold over the last 20 years or so.   

Holley lost their in house historical and tech  knowledge on six pack/tri power cars decades ago.   Not bashing Holley, but it is the way it is. 

Most of the reputable rebuild guys out thier that handle tri power/six pack setups realize the deal.   

I would get them rebuilt as such.   

[RzeroB]

My is to keep the six-pack rods as there is a special crank dampner used with them to compensate for their greater weight. A six-pack spotter with a good eye would notice the special dampner missing as it has a distinctly different appearance to it than the stock big block dampner.

If you want to improve torque and performance a bit over stock, I would consider using a modern cam grind. Nothing radical, but a bump up in performance level from stock. Cam technology has come a long way since the 70's and a new grind with a modern profile will give you a boost in performance without sacrificing driveability and will not affect the stock "appearance" of the engine in any way.

[slapshot]

Yeah, I have considered picking up another core block to build but I would plan to add a MSD rev limiter anyways.
The original carbs are long gone- I am not big into the car shows myself so am not worried about finding original date coded ones, just whatever works best.
Thanks for the tip on the six pack rods.

[Chryco Psycho]

the 6 pack rods used to be the hot deal but now you can build a 500" stroker with lighter rods & pist ons & a lot more torque.
 Personally I prefer the mechanical 6 pack carbs to the vacuum factory carbs

[RzeroB]

Here is an interesting thread from Moparts on custom cam grinder Bob Karakashian (no that's not "Kardashian") aka "Mr Six Pack" custom cams for the 440-6 motor ... http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=4138488