Feel like 360 should have more power

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Could guesstimate cam size by measuring cam lift and along with idle quality.

But deal with tuning First and go from there.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I will get cracking with new wires, plugs, and set timing and report back. I will dig more into the cam if the basics don’t do much.
 
standup303 said:
Thanks for the help everyone. I will get cracking with new wires, plugs, and set timing and report back. I will dig more into the cam if the basics don’t do much.
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Give us a clue about the camshaft. Don't tell us you don't know. Of course you know if it's stone stock, has a little lope or sounds like a top fueler. Throw us a bone here. While you may not know exactly what cam it is, you can certainly give us an idea. You HAVE heard hot rod cams before, right?
 
RustyRatRod said:
Give us a clue about the camshaft. Don't tell us you don't know. Of course you know if it's stone stock, has a little lope or sounds like a top fueler. Throw us a bone here. While you may not know exactly what cam it is, you can certainly give us an idea. You HAVE heard hot rod cams before, right?
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Haha I’d say it has a pretty aggressive lope to it, not the wildest Ive ever heard but a good bit more than a little.
 
standup303 said:
Haha I’d say it has a pretty aggressive lope to it, not the wildest Ive ever heard but a good bit more than a little.
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that ^^^ (aggressive lump) + your low compression + your high altitude = a dog.
 
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standup303 said:
Haha I’d say it has a pretty aggressive lope to it, not the wildest Ive ever heard but a good bit more than a little.
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Ok, that's a start, thanks. Now how hard was that? Now we know that "probably" your short block is in decent condition, but it's stock with a big for stock cam. I would agree with a good hot timing curve, BUT, unless you "somehow" get that cylinder pressure raised, you're not going to see a huge improvement.

Now, if you were to say, get the front of that engine off and put a degree wheel on it you could find out lots of info. But that's a story for someone who really wants to dig in and really make a difference. Is it worth that to you, or will you be happy cruising it like it is? Kinda a question only you can answer.
 
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318willrun said:
that ^^^ (aggressive lump) + your low compression + your high altitude = a dog.
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Kinda where I was going with my response. In order to do that, he'll need to figure out "what" cam he has now using a degree wheel and that will require some work. Because just opening it up and "advancing it 4 degrees" may not do much if it's say 12 degrees retarded. Know what I mean, Vern? So IF he's up for it, he needs to find out "what" he has now and "where" it's installed.
 
.....and having said all that ^^^^^^ If it was ME, I think I would just choose another (smaller) and better matched cam. If he's going to pull the front of the engine off, that's half the labor to recam, right there.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Kinda where I was going with my response. In order to do that, he'll need to figure out "what" cam he has now using a degree wheel and that will require some work. Because just opening it upi and "advancing it 4 degrees" may not do much if it's say 12 degrees retarded. Know what I mean, Vern? So IF he's up for it, he needs to find out "what" he has now and "where" it's installed.
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Too much here.
  • If it's lumpity lumpity lumpity camshaft, then it needs better compression than 104-108 psi
  • Is the converter even remotely close to supporting the cam??? Who knows, could be stock for what we know
I personally would replace that cam with a smaller one. Simple, not that expensive, and can be done in the car. This may help with everything, including the psi per cylinder.
 
RustyRatRod said:
.....and having said all that ^^^^^^ If it was ME, I think I would just choose another (smaller) and better matched cam. If he's going to pull the front of the engine off, that's half the labor to recam, right there.
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I see you just posted what i was typing
:lol:
 
There's a guy down the road that use to build and dyno at 5500 ft, do a search, check out IQ52, he's done a little with low compression engines.
 
318willrun said:
248* @ 050 in a stock engine and stock converter
:lol:
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and then wonder why a guy running a stock teener topped with a swapmeet 4bbl intake and junkyard holley is blowing doors off at the saturday night stop light eliminator contest.
 
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TT5.9mag said:
At 6200ft I’d throw a stock 318 cam in that 360.
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That would probably set it on fire compared to what it is now. That or maybe something like a 252-260 range. That's about as much as I would go.
 
RustyRatRod said:
That would probably set it on fire compared to what it is now. That or maybe something like a 252-260 range. That's about as much as I would go.
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with that compression pretty much anything closer to stock would be night and day. 360 4bbl cam would probably run real good, or an aftermarket RV cam...

but man, that's a double whammy: dog water compression and altitude just magnify the problem.
 
Pull that 360 pig and replace it with a 318 if you want performance! :poke: :poke::poke::rofl:
How many times have we heard the opposite of that?
 
Post #1, white smoke.
White smoke would be coolant getting into the combustion chamber...or brake fluid via the brake booster.
I see nothing wrong with the mixture looking at the spark plug pic.
The low compression test #s are worrying but without knowing the cam specs, they might be as good as it gets considering the elevation.
 
Sounds exactly like every 360 I have ever had, I seem to have much better results with 318s.
 
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