Just Bought A 360 (again!)

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'64 Cuda

'64 Cuda

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A few of the people here on the forum know about this, but I'll start at the beginning.

In September of 2007 I bought a balanced 360 LA roller cam short block minus cam on eBay. It had reworked rods with high strength bolts (ARP? don't recall at the moment), main studs with a windage tray, heavy duty Mopar cast crank, & coated bearings, performance dampener, etc. While waiting for the block to arrive I started accumulating parts based on it's deck height & my intended use, etc.

Without naming names, (several people have told me I should be posting his name all over the place) I tried for over 15 months to get the guy to ship the thing to me. Whatever he might tell anybody about this ordeal, I have all of the emails that went back & forth between us & can back up my side of the story. I heard every excuse in the book. Finally, after finding out that I was trying to locate him by contacting others, I guess he got pissed at me. He refunded my money, plus $50, 16 months to the day after I paid him.

So, now I'm starting over. I have purchased a running, untouched 360 roller cam engine from a 1991 Ramcharger & will pick it up this weekend.

I have the following parts for it.

Edelbrock 60779 heads

Complete new Six Pak setup (manifold, carbs, linkage, air cleaner)

Comp Cams hydraulic Roller cam 230*/236*@50 110CL 4* advanced w/.510"/.520" valve lift (1.5 rockers) with new Mopar Roller Lifters

Comp Cams Roller Rockers (The steel ones, not aluminum) with shafts

MP 3690426 Electronic Ignition Conversion kit

Double row roller timing chain set & chain tensioner


I also have other parts laying around. A stock 340 flywheel & a 30 year old performance flywheel (less than 10,000 street miles on it), windage tray, a hardened tip oil pump drive, other odds & ends.

This is going into my 64 Barracuda street/play car with a 4 speed & 3.91 gears.

Now for my dilemma. Do I build the engine as a 360 or bite the bullet, spend a bit more, & build a 408.

If I build a 360 I'll either have to find a 360 flywheel (I think these run about $300) or rework one of the ones I have to work with the 360 balance (kinda' hate to mess with the hipo flywheel, not sure that it matters, though). Maybe it could be internally balanced (cost?). Or maybe there's an internal balance replacement crank, I haven't looked much yet. Either rework a set of rods (I think I have a set of arp bolts) or maybe Eagle I beam rods. Also have to buy pistons. Maybe a little over $200? Balance the thing-$150 just guessing.

By the time I buy rods, pistons, (maybe a crank, haven't torn mine down, how good is the stock 360 crank?) would I just be money ahead to buy an internally balanced cast crank stroker assembly? Maybe $1400 to $1500? Any recommendations as to kits? I could use my flywheel as is. A lot of the other things I'd have to buy no matter what I build.

One other concern with a stroker is that my end carbs are for a 340 & I've seen it recommended to use 440 carbs. Can I rejet (was planning on converting the carbs anyway) & get by with the carbs I have?

I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of things, but at least the door is open now.

I'm wide open to anything anybody has to say. Have at it.
 
If you keave as a 360 , buy the correct flywheel ($300 is cheaper than having it balanced internally)

If you decide to stroke it 408 , then have it balance internally and use the neutral balance flywheel.

Bob
 
If its just for street play, I'd keep it a 360.

Strokers cost a lot, just to tell people you have a stroker.

Steve
 
The heads are very good for non-stroker applications unless you port them. And the cam is going to work great with them. The package as described looks to be well put togther.

From where you stand now, I would talk to a machinest and ask about balance cost. And go from there. If it is in your pocket to use aluminum after market rods, do it since it'll be cheaper than reworked OE rods. MoPar has the flywheel for a 360. I purchased one for mine some years back. Good part, if you go that way. (I would)

Use the six pak carbs and jet them up. Use a better jet than the Holley's. Like a Comp Cams jet pak.
 
rumblefish360 said:
The heads are very good for non-stroker applications unless you port them. And the cam is going to work great with them. The package as described looks to be well put togther.

From where you stand now, I would talk to a machinest and ask about balance cost. And go from there. If it is in your pocket to use aluminum after market rods, do it since it'll be cheaper than reworked OE rods. MoPar has the flywheel for a 360. I purchased one for mine some years back. Good part, if you go that way. (I would)

Use the six pak carbs and jet them up. Use a better jet than the Holley's. Like a Comp Cams jet pak.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm working with old knowledge, but I thought you weren't supposed to run aluminum rods on the street. That's why I thought about the Eagle I beams, probably cheaper than reworking the stock rods.

Also, I forgot to ask about pistons. The block I originally bought had Speed Pros HE's Any recommendations? KB's better than the SP's? What kind of static ratio should i go for? I was thinking around 10 to 1 for pump gas, maybe a little higher.
 
Aluminum does has a shorter life span and when I read your post above, I assumed that was the direction you were going. I myself would not want to run aluminum on the street only for it's shorter life cycle than the OE rods.

Todays rods are built better than yesteryears rods when it comes for street duty. It'll probably cost over $550 to rework OE rods without breakin a sweat.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Aluminum does has a shorter life span and when I read your post above, I assumed that was the direction you were going. I myself would not want to run aluminum on the street only for it's shorter life cycle than the OE rods.

Todays rods are built better than yesteryears rods when it comes for street duty. It'll probably cost over $550 to rework OE rods without breakin a sweat.
Click to expand...

Sounds like I'd be better off to just buy a set of Eagle I beam rods for a little over $200 & be done with it.

Just looked. Closer to $300.
 
just put a set in my 360 w-2 motor...very nice rods...
 
Since this comes with a truck pan I'm going to need a different one. Stock type good enough? Do I need a regular 360 pan or one for a Magnum (I think there's a difference)?
 
The Eddy heads and roller cam and 6 pack with a 4 spd. sounds like a real good package in a 360 cube engine. If your running a early A like your handle suggests you don't really need the massive torque a stroker will provide. YOu also don't need the traction problems a stroker may present. The stock 360 crank is a real tough piece. I just run a stock pan on my 360 and it seems to work fine. Have had it up past 6500 a couple times and never a problem. The only magnum pan I know of is the truck pan which is rear sump so it won't work so you need a LA pan and gaskets.
 
Thanks. You're right, it's for my '64. I'll probably just look for a stock type pan & pickup & run a regular (not high volume) pump. I was figuring on 6,500 rpm as my max, & usually would keep it well under that. Will a 340 windage tray work with a 360 crank? Would the Eagle I beam rods clear it?

Now a question about valve springs. I'm sure that the single springs that come standard on the Edelbrock heads wouldn't be adequate for the roller cam. Comp recommends their 987 springs for my cam. This is the description from their catalog.
Type of spring Dual,
1.430 in. Outside Diameter of outer spring
1.070 Inside diameter of outer
.697 Inside diameter of inner
370 lbs./in. Rate
Damper Yes
1.800 Installed height
1.150 in. Coil Bind Height

Would these be a straight replacement on the Edelbrock heads? I asked Edelbrock & they couldn't tell me. They did say that a Hughes dual spring # 1111 was a direct replacement on their heads with no modifications. Here's the info from the Hughes site.

# Installed Height/Pressure: 1.800"--140#
# Pressure @ .450" lift: 275#
# Pressure @ .500" lift: 295#
# Pressure @ .550" lift: 315#
# Pressure @ .600" lift: 330#
# Pressure @ .650" lift: 345#
# Coil Bind: .700" lift
# Inner Spring ID/OD: 0.809"/1.087"
# Outer Spring ID/OD: 1.087"/1.440"
# Type of Spring: Double

I see quite a difference in the OD of the inner springs so I'm not sure if the Comp springs would work with the Edelbrock retainers. But I'm figuring the Hughes springs would be good enough for the cam I have. Right?
 
windage tray fits and rods clear...

hughes 1111 spring are a direct fit..and will work with the hydraulic roller...make sure you order the shim that goes under the inner spring for the 1111 from hughes also...

i would believe that the comp springs will fit too...
 
I bought a truck 360 too. I was searching for a passenger car oil pan for it. Several attempts at a used one turned out to be 318 pans. I went with a kit from mopar. It comes with a brand new pasenger car stock oil pan,dip stick tube,dip stick, oil pick up and pan. You can probably find them on ebay or your local mopar dealer.
 
Yeah, I guess my brain's moving faster than the rest of me!

Pistons. Any advantages of Kb's or Speed Pro's? Also have been thinking about a damper. I imagine I'll need a new one since the original has over 140,000 miles on it. Is a stock replacement type good enough? Any brands to stay away from?

One more thing. I've asked before but still not sure of what to do. I have a Mopar Performance hardened tip intermediate shaft. Will it work with the Comp roller cam? I asked Comp & the guy said I shouldn't need a different gear, but he didn't really sound too sure. How do you tell by looking if a cam will require a different gear on the intermediate shaft?

I should go to bed now so I can think of more questions. :toothy10:
 
Pistons. Any advantages of Kb's or Speed Pro's?
Click to expand...
You'll have to find out about the compresion height of the Fed-Mougal pisstons. If there both zero deck slugs, the F/M slugs have a coated skirt. Very good for long life in the street. Not a damn thing wrong with trhe KB's.

Also have been thinking about a damper. I imagine I'll need a new one since the original has over 140,000 miles on it. Is a stock replacement type good enough? Any brands to stay away from?
Click to expand...

Is the OE damaged?
A upgrade to a SFI unit would be ideal.

Get a Mopar guy on the phone!
Ask Comp Cams if the shaft requires a bronze gear. That is where the issue is. Not the hardened tip. The harder tip is for use with the HP oil pump.

Or double check the part number in the catolog.
 
Good points rumble. I'll ad one thing about the pistons. The KB's weigh quite a bit less than the SP's which means the assembly will need to be balanced for sure if you use KB's. The SP's are real close to stock weight pistons so a rebalancing isn't necessary, but it's always a good thing.
 
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