If you are gonna do a partial rebuild throw forged pistons in a v8, they have the better oiling setup in the crank and you get better cams. I do not know people that are popping pistons in the V8 motors like with the 205. The V7 pistons are not like aftermarket forged units they are only slightly tougher but have lower thermal conductivity. You also get the sick twin scroll setup on the v8.
The DCCD transmission with a 3.9 rear end is 35/65 torque split when run with no diff controller. most of the non-DCCD 6-speeds have an open front diff, very few have 3 limited slips since then you cant run ABS on 3 LSDs without trouble. the 3 LSD transmissions I believe were specifically for rally use.