13 sec. 360 for $3,000?

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mshred

mshred

The Green Manalishi
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How would you build a 360LA with the following restrictions and with a goal of a mid to low 13 second street car at 3600lbs

- Stock bore, and stroke (and pistons preferably too)
- 3.00 rear axle ratio
- must run on pump gas (87 octane preferably, but 91 is an option)
- max budget of 3k for engine and converter (727)
- ability to retain power steering and brakes (brakes not a MUST, but would be nice)

I have a lot of LA parts kicking around already (gaskets, bearings, ignition, trans, carb, etc) and have done a low budget build like this before, but not on a vehicle this heavy, nor with this kind of gear ratio restriction. Trying to do it on a budget, so going to try and piece what i dont have together using second hand parts.

So, how would you do it? Or have you actually done it?
 
$3k and stock compression 3.0ratio and auto - maybe in 1979 but not with todays prices 3600lbs…. That’s a firm nada ghost rider.
 
mshred said:
How would you build a 360LA with the following restrictions and with a goal of a mid to low 13 second street car at 3600lbs

- Stock bore, and stroke (and pistons preferably too)
- 3.00 rear axle ratio
- must run on pump gas (87 octane preferably, but 91 is an option)
- max budget of 3k for engine and converter (727)
- ability to retain power steering and brakes (brakes not a MUST, but would be nice)

I have a lot of LA parts kicking around already (gaskets, bearings, ignition, trans, carb, etc) and have done a low budget build like this before, but not on a vehicle this heavy, nor with this kind of gear ratio restriction. Trying to do it on a budget, so going to try and piece what i dont have together using second hand parts.

So, how would you do it? Or have you actually done it?
Click to expand...
I did it for about 1000 bucks, maybe less from the carb to oil pan with a stock 904 and converter, 2.76 gears. Mid 13's all day. I was at about 3450-3500 lbs at the line

360 LA engine long block, 400 dollars off of craigslist. .427 lift cam 204@050 on the intake. eddy RPM intake, but not the air gap. 750 DP Holley.
 
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if you could use a 904 with the low first gear, that might help..
 
mshred said:
How would you build a 360LA with the following restrictions and with a goal of a mid to low 13 second street car at 3600lbs

- Stock bore, and stroke (and pistons preferably too)
- 3.00 rear axle ratio
- must run on pump gas (87 octane preferably, but 91 is an option)
- max budget of 3k for engine and converter (727)
- ability to retain power steering and brakes (brakes not a MUST, but would be nice)

I have a lot of LA parts kicking around already (gaskets, bearings, ignition, trans, carb, etc) and have done a low budget build like this before, but not on a vehicle this heavy, nor with this kind of gear ratio restriction. Trying to do it on a budget, so going to try and piece what i dont have together using second hand parts.

So, how would you do it? Or have you actually done it?
Click to expand...
I'd put aside the low 13's goal, if rebuilding the engine I'd make sure the short block was done right with good pistons anything else could easily changed down the road. If money left for a good stall would be my second main purchased. I think I'd like the journey of mod to mod improvements and working my way there.

318willrun has shown what can be done with very little, and you could go with a lot more cam than his before powerbrakes are an issuse.
 
Give us some guidelines. Is this 3000 bucks to be spent on an engine and car we already have? I assume so? You say you have a good core. How good? Do you think it will stand like a ball hone and go or will it need boring? I ask, because the more money you can spend on heads, the better the project will be.
 
Headers are a must! Buy them used. Used aluminum heads, intake. Stock ignition. Mild cam.
 
a friend has a 66 cuda with a mid 70's 360 in it. has kb107 pistons, hemi grind cam and 3.23 gears. runs mid 12's. its probably lighter then 3600 pounds though
 
just off some back of the barroom napkin maths, if there's machine work involved you're likely exceeding that 3K threshold

a cheap converter is gonna run you at least 500
then you're looking at around 400 cam & lifters
throw another 250 at that for a timing chain, valve springs & locks

add another 250 for incidentals and you're near half your budget.

it really, really depends on what you've got holding down the shop floor and stashed away on the shelves collecting dust. ignition, bearings, gaskets and a carb are all good things to have but they don't make power...

you need compression, heads that flow, and a cromulent induction system.

but, i'm guess you probably only need about 350hp to get to that magic mid 13's and with a 360 there's a lot of ways to cut that pie.
 
Here's a video of a budget stock low cr 360 bottom end from stock 225hp 2bbl to almost 400 hp engine.



Here's a 300-350hp magnum

 
I think you can do it fairly easily if you do a lot of the work yourself. Balance the rotating assembly, blueprint everything, mild port match on intake & exhaust sides of intake & heads, don't over cam or over carb it. Simple matching of parts should accomplish this with no problems. 9 to 1 compression should run on pump gas just fine. Most of this is just your time spent making sure it's all put together to help all the components work together. They slapped these engines together on the assembly line & SOME ran real good bone stock, so if you take your time, putting a real good running 13 second 360 in a 3600# car should be pretty easy, even with low 3 something gears.
Just my opinion.
 
I know you said LA, but I would find a decent 5.9 Magnum, add an air gap and 750 dp, headers and a hot ignition curve. Along with a good drive train and decent gears, that's a 13 second combo all day long.
 
how did you arrive at 13 sec. for the 1/4 mile
Just rebuild a stock 360...but use the smaller .204 / .214 cam like 318willrun suggests.It should
get you there. At the very least it will fry the tires easily...for 1/2 a block and be a super fun street
driver!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I have seen all the videos and builds posted here (and more). I know my biggest limiting factor is my weight and gearing, not the budget- hence why I said stock bottom end, as the engine is low mileage. I already have the car, and it has a 360, 727, and 8.25 suregrip. This is going to be a summer cruiser (already is actually), but I also remember what low 13s felt like when my other car was that slow, and it was still a hoot for me- currently I cant even spin tires, but thats also because it has a junk quadrajet on it from the previous owner that I havent spent any time tuning because the season is almost over and im pulling the motor soon.

I have 904 cores, and both 727 and 904 parts..
I already have 1-5/8s hookers for it, and a fresh rebuilt 780cfm holley vac secondary. Distributor, coils, an old weiand spread bore intake (want to get rid of it for an air gap or even copy), enough gaskets and bearings to rebuild the entire 360, and more that im forgetting actually..

Point being, is that for 3k I think with some horsetrading and luck I could end up with a used combo along the lines of- 3000 stall converter, manual valvebody (if im not shifting it myself whats the point, and yes ive driven on the street with them and its a non issue to me), airgap intake, either stock heads shaved and cleaned up or maybe the speedmasters once black friday comes around, a used or NIB second hand cam, and away we go.

Really my biggest dilemna is cam and compression- I love that it currently runs on junk gas, and thus would love to keep it that way and still hit my goal, but dont want to overcam. If I can find a set of 360 aftermarket drop in pistons that require no balance job to the rotating assembly that will help me get compression up, then thats a route i dont mind either as I know I can be more aggressive in cam selection.

So I have my ideas, and ive built about 4 different 360 combos before myself, so this isnt my first rodeo. I had a 360 roller motor with stone stock bottom end, thin headgaskets, and the imm rhs ported heads with a hydraulic roller that ran 12.30s all day on 87 driving to the track with a 4 speed, but I also had 4.10 gears. It would be too easy for me to get all strip style with this car, but I bought it to cruise with the wife and kid, while still having enough pep to get out of its own way, hence my goals.
 
No "3000 stall" needed for mid 13's. My same 360 I listed above is now at 12.8's @ 104-105 mph still running the factory stock torque converter and 3.23 gears, and it's a open rear end. It does have the "black friday sale - under 700 bucks fully loaded to my door" speedmaster heads (untouched) and is down around 3350 lbs at the line. I'm still running the factory stamped steel rockers LOL
 
If it’s a low miles short block i would rering it and wait for black friday for some speedmaster heads.
 
318willrun said:
No "3000 stall" needed for mid 13's. My same 360 I listed above is now at 12.8's @ 104-105 mph still running the factory stock torque converter and 3.23 gears, and it's a open rear end. It does have the "black friday sale - under 700 bucks fully loaded to my door" speedmaster heads (untouched) and is down around 3350 lbs at the line. I'm still running the factory stamped steel rockers LOL
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My logic on the higher stall is because of the weight of the vehicle. This isnt an abody, and realistically im guessing on the weight. Im gonna venture its probably closer to 3800lbs with me in it, but i really dont know.

Good to know the factory rockers work on those heads, was part of my plan as well
 
cookietruck said:
If it’s a low miles short block i would rering it and wait for black friday for some speedmaster heads.
Click to expand...
Thats parially what im thinking ill do at this point as well.

Another idea ive had is a used torqstorm blower setup, if I can find one
 
I paid $700 for machine work, $1500 for balanced stroker kit... add $700 speedmaster heads... now you have the torque and wouldn't need a converter just the correct $99 cam regrind, solid lifters, and some $200 used 273 adjustable rockers...
Now instead of roasting the tires for a half block, you'll roast the tires till you run out of gas or rubber.... my-2...
 
A friend took a low compression 360 duster to Carlisle a few years ago to sell. He ran 2.94 gears and put a 904
transmission in it that he retrofitted with the later lo gear set. He also used the old generic .429 / .444 .204 / .214
cam which has shorter duration than the stock 340 cam. Took a prospective buyer for a drive and scared the **** out of him. He said the lo end torque was very strong.
Sale was made immediately!
a big cam in a lo compression engine can work but but hi stall converter and gears are usually necessary for best
results.
 
j par said:
I paid $700 for machine work, $1500 for balanced stroker kit... add $700 speedmaster heads... now you have the torque and wouldn't need a converter just the correct $99 cam regrind, solid lifters, and some $200 used 273 adjustable rockers...
Now instead of roasting the tires for a half block, you'll roast the tires till you run out of gas or rubber.... my-2...
Click to expand...
What's next for the stroker you pulled? Did it find a new residence?
 
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