Dropping the V8 in a first gen is a piece of cake. It took us three evenings of part time work, about 18 hours, to put the 360 in my truck. That's nothing to completely done and running. Go for it! One thing is that the stock Mitsu rear, while stout, simply does not have a high enough (low numerical) gear ration for the swap, which is why I'm narrowing a Mopar 8.75 to put in mine. A Mopar 8.25 would be plenty strong enough too, but probably harder to find a used LSD (posi to you GM indoctrinated guys out there) for one. Nevertheless, Randy's ring and Pinion can set you up with new axles, LSD, bearings, everything, for under a grand.
On mine, with the 2:76 gears and 27 inch tall tires, it'll turn 2650 RPM's at 80MPH, which is better than my wife's Scion xB at the same speed. The V8 has SO much torque, you just don't need a taller gear in it. The new hemi would be even better than my old LA motor (for a while).