360 Came With A Forged Crank

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DueceDuster

DueceDuster

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I was at a cruise last night and a guy was talking about his 74 Cuda he bought New with a 360 4 barrel carb. He claimed that it came with a forged crank for that year only.
I learned that the 360 was only cast crank with external balance. Has anyone ever heard of a factory 360 with a forged crank? I know the cranks are available aftermarket.
 
There was also a mid year change in the 360 to make the thrust bearing flange larger...
 
Guy at cars and coffee bought a special order 440 Hemi because his uncle was an exec at Mopar too. All cast all the time for the 360.
 
Nope. Never happened. He's an idiot.
 
I was at a cruise and some guy was telling me the Demon he had in the 70's came with front coil over suspension. He "ordered" it that way and not many people knew about that option....................what a dick.
 
Herb McCandless told me not to worry about a cast 360 crank. Said they were plenty strong.
 
if you are around this game long enough you will hear them all... I just smile and say wow cool! maybe aftermarket. DC motor book talks about first year forged 360s but that would have been 71 or 72 if at all.
 
All 360’s had cast cranks. They also did not get the good stuff, except heads, till 74. There was not a High Performance 360 till the 340 was gone.
 
mbaird said:
Herb McCandless told me not to worry about a cast 360 crank. Said they were plenty strong.
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Exactly. They were made out of the same material as the 351 Cleveland cranks. Nodular cast iron. Much stronger than plain old cast iron. The Clevelands routinely spun 9500 on the NASCAR tracks back in the day, so the stock 360 cranks are just fine.
 
66fs said:
All 360’s had cast cranks. They also did not get the good stuff, except heads, till 74. There was not a High Performance 360 till the 340 was gone.
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That's "kinda" true. As far as HP stuff like 4 barrels and the 340 cam, yes, you are right. However, the first year 360 (1971) had a different piston with a longer compression distance which added more compression. One year only. It's a shame that the entire aftermarket went with the '72 and up piston as the standard replacement.
 
RustyRatRod said:
That's "kinda" true. As far as HP stuff like 4 barrels and the 340 cam, yes, you are right. However, the first year 360 (1971) had a different piston with a longer compression distance which added more compression. One year only. It's a shame that the entire aftermarket went with the '72 and up piston as the standard replacement.
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Same for 318’s in 67?, and 273’s in 68 and 69. I’m sure there are more, but don’t know them off the top of my head.
 
Not even from Direct Connection , 1977 Special parts catalog
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66fs said:
Same for 318’s in 67?, and 273’s in 68 and 69. I’m sure there are more, but don’t know them off the top of my head.
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Yeah and it blows chunks because they still offer several compression heights for the 318 and none for the 340 or 360.......in stock replacements anyway.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Exactly. They were made out of the same material as the 351 Cleveland cranks. Nodular cast iron. Much stronger than plain old cast iron. The Clevelands routinely spun 9500 on the NASCAR tracks back in the day, so the stock 360 cranks are just fine.
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And larger main journals than 318’s and 340’s.
 
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