340 or 360???

If you want to race a Stock Class drag car, or build a killer, high specific output motor for NHRA's Competition Eliminator, a 340 is undoubetdly the better of the two for you. However, the 360's that run in NHRA's Stock Eliminator run just as fast as the 340s, even in Super Stock, but the 340 is obviously easier to go fast with, because of the higher OEM compression (pre '72) and bigger valves, not to mention having a shorter stroke and less piston speed at any given rpm. The 340 is just a better high-rpm motor.

Think of the 340 as the best basis for a race motor; the 360 as the basis for a cheaper-to-build, street/strip motor.

It's not that hard to build a 500hp 360,and the parts are a lot earier to find, and cheaper than 340 stuff, for the most part.

The 318/360 Magnum heads are not very good, admittedly, but both Magnum blocks have OEM roller tappets (as do some of the '86 and up L-A 318/360 motors), but if you want a roller in a 340, you have to install an aftermarket setup, and that can get expensive.

Oil pans are not at all hard to find for 360's... I bought mine (for use in a '72 A=Body car) from P-A-W, a big, aftermarket mail-order parts store, online. It was in their ad in Hot Rod magazine.

The extra torque from the 20 additional cubic inches that a 360 has over a 340 is useful on the street, as is the extra horsepower it generates.

They are two different ways of getting high performance; 340's for serious racers, and 360's for people like me, who want to go maybe not quite THAT fast, on a little less generous budget.

There's plenty of room for both... :)