273 Rods work in a 360?

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Bronze Barracuda

Bronze Barracuda

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Will 273 Connecting rods work in a 360 with 325 HP? My 360 rods were exposed to the elements for 20 years and would need a lot of work to get back in good condition. But I have a nice set of 273 Rods. The number on the rods is 44109A87.
 
yes, but 273 rod has a bushing in it, 360 uses a pressed pin. piston needs lock ring grooves cut in pin bores, unless you're using after market, pistons, some come with lock grooves. just food for thought
 
And I think the 273 rods are lighter. I probably have a set of 360 rods laying around if you are interested, but shipping is expensive now
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perfacar said:
yes, but 273 rod has a bushing in it, 360 uses a pressed pin. piston needs lock ring grooves cut in pin bores, unless you're using after market, pistons, some come with lock grooves. just food for thought
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Thanks. Yes I am using aftermarket pistons. Enginetech pistons P1530. I know cheap! But I've heard some pretty good reviews on Enginetech.
 
Bronze Barracuda said:
Will 273 Connecting rods work in a 360 with 325 HP? My 360 rods were exposed to the elements for 20 years and would need a lot of work to get back in good condition. But I have a nice set of 273 Rods. The number on the rods is 44109A87.
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Will they work? Yes. Are they as heavy? No. Will they be balanced because they are lighter? Hell no. Should you use them? I wouldn't.
 
I think balancing the complete rotating assembly would be key to how long the combination lasts. Of course, balancing is key to the life span of our race engines.
 
I think it would be a smart idea TO use them especially if building from ground zero. They're much lighter than standard 340/360 rods, plus they're pretty strong. They were strong enough that Mopar Performance knew it and offered a set based on them with good rod bolts. If you're building an engine anyway, you'd probably have it balanced so what's the difference? We all know the benefits of a lighter rotating assembly.
 
agree with RRR. 273 rods with some good bolts will be plenty strong. the only down side would be if you need to machine the piston for locks and if that would sour the deal because of the additional $'s

if the pistons have the provision, then i'd truck right along and knock it together with a balance.
 
I think '69 up rods from a 318 are the same as 340 rods, and same as 360; except some are bushed and some are not.
My 400hp 367/4-speed, has bushed 318 rods in it and a rebalance for KB 107 pistons. It's been been to 7000 plus, many a time.
When I put my engine together in '99, I had at least one or more sets of every SMB factory rods available. Those 273 rods looked like spaghetti next to the others and
I just couldn't see those 4500 rpm/180hp/low-torque rods, going the distance.
 

AJ/FormS said:
I think '69 up rods from a 318 are the same as 340 rods, and same as 360; except some are bushed and some are not.
My 400hp 367/4-speed, has bushed 318 rods in it and a rebalance for KB 107 pistons. It's been been to 7000 plus, many a time.
When I put my engine together in '99, I had at least one or more sets of every SMB factory rods available. Those 273 rods looked like spaghetti next to the others and
I just couldn't see those 4500 rpm/180hp/low-torque rods, going the distance.
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Well that's enough evidence for me. But I have read that they are a lighter connecting rod which definitely has it upside. And if it's holding 400 + HP at 7000 rpm! Well that's good enough for me!
I also like the 904 transmission and and the 741 8 3/4 for the same reason. HP saved is as good as HP gained. IMHO.
 
AJ/FormS said:
I think '69 up rods from a 318 are the same as 340 rods, and same as 360; except some are bushed and some are not.
My 400hp 367/4-speed, has bushed 318 rods in it and a rebalance for KB 107 pistons. It's been been to 7000 plus, many a time.
When I put my engine together in '99, I had at least one or more sets of every SMB factory rods available. Those 273 rods looked like spaghetti next to the others and
I just couldn't see those 4500 rpm/180hp/low-torque rods, going the distance.
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Those "spaghetti" 273 rods were the ones Mopar Performance offered with good rod bolts. They are quite sought after today for those that know what they are. What rods do you think the D Darts came with in 1966? Yeah. Those. Those little engines got spun the piss out of in D stock racing class. Reworked with ARP rod bolts with a good balance on the rotating assembly with modern lightweight pistons and I wouldn't hesitate to spin them 7K plus.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Those "spaghetti" 273 rods were the ones Mopar Performance offered with good rod bolts. They are quite sought after today for those that know what they are. What rods do you think the D Darts came with in 1966? Yeah. Those. Those little engines got spun the piss out of in D stock racing class. Reworked with ARP rod bolts with a good balance on the rotating assembly with modern lightweight pistons and I wouldn't hesitate to spin them 7K plus.
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spaghetti rods. I like that. Well I better hang onto mine for something a little more free revving. I'm building the 360 for my Ramcharger. But I would like to get my hands on a 1965 Dart someday. I think fast revving 273 would be pretty slick!
 
If your pistons have the lock ring grooves, they should work fine with a rebalance as others have said. Before you pull the trigger on using the 273 rods, check with your machine shop to see how much it will cost to resize your 273 rods and fit the pins, plus end balance them. You may find that it is cheaper to buy new Scat I beam rods that are already balanced and come with new ARP cap screws, instead of fixing the old rods. I saved money going that route when I built my 273 a year or so ago. Good luck with your build.
 
I wouldn't use the small rods if I was building a fresh 400 hp engine.I've had the small 318 rods actually look like spaghetti after being in my 4 speed dart for a couple years....and it wasn't near 400 hp I'm sure.also the 72 318 was the first year for the bigger rod in a 318 and for that year only they are floating like the 340.
 
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