swinger340
Well-Known Member
Have heard of people having it done. Am thinking about doing it to a 360 im building. Advisable or not? 9.8:1 360 w RHS heads. Didnt want to mess around w balancers and flywheel. Want to eliminate the external balancing.
Yes i realize it is the whole assy being balanced. I guess i should have been more clear. If i choose light enough pistons and rods will alot of weight still be needed to to convert to an internaly balanced engine? If malory cost is going to be retarded i might as well just stroke it seeing as i need to get rods and pistons anyways.I built my 360 with KB107 pistons and Eagle SIR rods. Both of these are significantly lighter than the stock piston and rod. I had the rotating assembly balanced and they wound up taking almost a pound of metal off the crank. That much out of balance is going to be felt at idle not to mention the extra wear and tear on the engine. If you ate building the engine with Pistons or rods that are not stock replacement pieces i would say balancing is mandatory.
BTW, the don't balance the crank, it's the entire rotating assembly. The shop will need the crank, pistons, rings, rods. Plus if you are staying with the external balance they will need the harmonic balancer and the flex plate/ torque convertor (depending where the balance is) or the flywheel.
Id be more than happy w your combo. I want to try and keep my price down as well. Will spend more on a stroker later.KB K107 pistons, stock 340 rods, stock crank.
I used a B&M counter weighted flexplate & aftermarket Balancer with a bolt on weight.
I had it balanced externally to keep the cost down. I built the engine to go into a street car & it ended up in a race car.
The engine has 900+ passes on it since 2007, no concerns yet.
It has ran a between 11.20's & 11.50's depending on conditions.
Internally would be the proper way to balance it in my opinion.
Id be more than happy w your combo. I want to try and keep my price down as well. Will spend more on a stroker later.
Where in Maine are you at? Lets make this thing work. Thanks, KevinI own an automotiver machine shop that specializes in Chrysler performance work.
I have built a number of the 360 performance engines and although they are external balance they have all performed very well. A few have been copies of the Chrysler 360 crate motor with some extra enhancements in the valve work area. It is costly to convert to internal balance because of the expense of the mallory metal(tungsten). Balancing the crank as an external with an aftermarket damper or stock unit works out better than going internal due to the cost of the metal and the labor involved.The entire thing boils down to "attention to detail". When we balance we go to "0" for the right and left counter weight correction. Most shops stop at .5 grams which is commercially acceptable and for the most part will work OK. I just feel that I will balance someones motor the same way I would my own.
x2 i did mine it $creem$....I would balance it for sure, but I would not waste the money "converting" it to internal balance. You will have more money into the crank than its worth. Its better off going to a stroker crank or just keep it external.
Where in Maine are you at? Lets make this thing work. Thanks, Kevin
X2, I had mine balanced when they machined the block. You'll need the ENTIRE rotating assembly. Mine is going into my convertible. I changed the pistons and rods (much lighter) and it threw off the factory balance.I built my 360 with KB107 pistons and Eagle SIR rods. Both of these are significantly lighter than the stock piston and rod. I had the rotating assembly balanced and they wound up taking almost a pound of metal off the crank. That much out of balance is going to be felt at idle not to mention the extra wear and tear on the engine. If you ate building the engine with Pistons or rods that are not stock replacement pieces i would say balancing is mandatory.
BTW, the don't balance the crank, it's the entire rotating assembly. The shop will need the crank, pistons, rings, rods. Plus if you are staying with the external balance they will need the harmonic balancer and the flex plate/ torque convertor (depending where the balance is) or the flywheel.