361 engine specs

[gipperco]

Where can I find out about 1965 361 build info. The car that I am getting had a 361 in it. The engine comes with the car but the car has a 1968 440 currently in it. I am being told that a 361 and a 383 we very similar. I would like to build the 361 to make it have some get up and go. I plan on rebuilding it and then building the 440 for my wife's bracket Dart. I cannot seam to find any info on it or a good combo to build the 361 to get the most out of it.

 

[1967DartGT]

361 very similar to a 383 except the bore is 4.125 instead of 4.25. It might be easier to put in a 383 than to try to find pistons.

 

[grumpuscreature]

Big blocks came in 2 flavors, B and RB. The B engines used a 3.38" stroke, had their own main journal size and rod length. The RBs used a 3.75" stroke, had larger main journals and longer rods. They also had a 1" taller deck to accomodate the longer rods and increased stroke. The B engines were produced in 350, 361, 383, and 400 cubic inch displacements. The RB engines were produced in 383, 413, 426, and 440 cubic inch displacements. The 350 B and 383 RB shared the same bore size as did the 361 B and 413 RB, 383 B and 426 RB. The 400 B came with its own specific bore size (4.38") but shared the same crank, deck height, and rod dimensions as the other B engines. The 440 RB also had its own specific bore size (4.32") but shared crank, deck height, and rod dimensions with the other RBs. The 350 B and 383 RB didn't last long, being phased out by 1960 so I doubt you will see very many of them. I think their bore size was 4.06". The 361 B and 413 RB had a 4.125" bore while the 383 B and 426 RB came in at 4.25" bore size.
Now to make it work. To rebuild a 350, 361, 383, or 400 B all you need to find are the specs for a B engine regardless of displacement. Any RB can be rebuilt from any RB specs. The only thing that will possibly change is the piston to wall clearance and the ring end gaps and those specs will come with the pistons and/or rings. Hope this helps.

 

[gipperco]

funny that you mention that. A friend of mine told me tonight that a 361 is an anchor and to not spend the money on rebuilding it to get a 383 and put a little into it and I would be happier. So what year 383 should I be trying to find. Anyone ?????

 

[perfacar]

hi, the 361 and the 383 are very good motors. a 361 can be made to run good. they like the same cam, intakes, carbs. the early 361 could be bored out to 383 size. not sure about 65 year. egge sells pistons for 361 mopars. the rings are same size as a (gasp) 400 chev 4.125. bearings are same as 383.later model heads will wake it up also. just food for thought.

 

[2 Darts]

funny that you mention that. A friend of mine told me tonight that a 361 is an anchor and to not spend the money on rebuilding it to get a 383 and put a little into it and I would be happier. So what year 383 should I be trying to find. Anyone ?????

Look for any 63 or later 383 with a 4 bbl. These had a high compression ratio. The 383 2 bbl was a standard motor Chrysler Newports & 300 Sports (non-letter series) for a while. These are low compression engines.

The 361 4bbl was the top cataloged engine (413 Max Wedge was not in the catalogs) available in 1962 for the Plymouth and Dodge 330-500 lines. While the 2 bbl was rated at 265 hp, the 4 bbl was rated at 305 hp. There was no difference in compression ratio, 9.2:1

 

[ez_equiel]

Hi guys, i'm searching any information about mopar v8 361. I'm understand that these engines were mounted on trucks and buses. I did searched in allpar and other places but i can't find the specifications of this engine.
Can they provide the values of torque of this engine?
Sorry for my bad english.
Regards.

 

[rumblefish360]

Your English looks pretty good to me and welcome aboard!

As far as specs go? What specs are you looking for? Torque specs? You can follow the other B series engines without issue. Your biggest challenge is pistons which can be found at Egge machine .com. They will be cast aluminum pistons.

Next would be the small valves if you need them. Otherwise, it is the same as the other B series engines.

These engines also made there way into cars. There not solely a truck engine. Here in the USA you can find them in a old Charger. It was the first option box upgrade over the Poly 318 in 1966.

 

[GaryS]

Hi guys, i'm searching any information about mopar v8 361. I'm understand that these engines were mounted on trucks and buses. I did searched in allpar and other places but i can't find the specifications of this engine.
Can they provide the values of torque of this engine?
Sorry for my bad english.
Regards.

They were a standard B-engine in many 1958-1966 full size and intermediate cars. In stock form with stock cam and small-valve heads, they were pretty weak, but the engine is exactly like a B-383 with less displacement.

 

[ez_equiel]

Then i can change a crankshaft and put large valves , and a new camshaft, generate a some horsepower upper that stock engine, very similar of the mopar v8 383.

 

[rumblefish360]

That would be expensive to do but yes. The cost of pistons would be very expensive. You could still do well at 361 cubes. The small block 360 can generate some very respectable HP with there stock 1.88 valves and and better with a 2.02 valve. The 361 has larger valves in a better flowing head. Porting the head can really improve the performance.
Without bigger valves.

Your biggest challenge, again, is getting pistons that offer a decent compression ratio. Keep it under 10-1.

 

[Darter6]

Look at it this way, 361 vs 383, the 340 vs 360 the engine. "361" is so simular as the "383" performance wise set up the same, you can hardly tell the difference.We used to run a 361 in a 59 plymouth fury that ran in the 14 flat to high 13's.Heavy street legal car.Look at today's pump gas engines and 9 to 1 is a prefered compression ratio. If it all checks out you may not even need new pistons. I like them and "Free" is a good thing. I just looked up the compression ratios 9.0to1 361 9.2to1 383 10.0 to1 383 4 bbl . 1966 service manual