Mopar 300hp/360 crate motor

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75dartsport

75dartsport

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Ok here's the deal. I ran across a 360 for sale. The guy says its an early 90's LA 300hp 360 crate motor. He bought it new and sais it does still have the tags on the block showing the information from chrysler showing what it is. He says it has 308 heads, all forged internals, and hydraulic roller cam. Its not supposed to have any more than maybe 10,000 miles on it. I can't find any info on the early la crate motors. I would like some info, because I'm thinking about buying it, sticking some better heads, larger roller cam, and better intake on it. I can buy the motor complete with pulleys, brackets, M1 dual plane, 727 with a 3000 stall for 500.00.
 
and why have you not bought it yet..

probably not all forged...all 360s have cast cranks..and most of the crate engine use Hypereutectic pistons....

I have two MP short blocks they both use Speed Pro HP116CP pistons which are hyper...

the 300hp/360 is a basic truck engine ...with a carb and regular iginiton.....

still a very good engine for the price..
 
Were these crate motors balanced? Would they be a good shortblock, to upgrade the heads cam and intake?
 
they are externally balanced just like any other 360 that came off the production line in the early 90s..

yes...they are good short block...and they use the OEM roller cam setup which make is easier to upgrade the cam....

heads...any LA head will work...alot of people like the 308 head...aftermarket wise..a RHS/Indy head would offer better performance.

I am currently using one of the MP short blocks in my 73 Duster which I have been driving a lot lately....
 
Here is what I was thinking. Going with a set of RHS from IMM. Putting around a 550 lift hydraulic roller cam in it. And a Victor 340 intake I have already. Will the factory roller lifters work on an upgraded cam or will I need new lifters? Looking to get 400 to 450 hp out of this combo. Wasnt sure if the crate motor bottom would handle the upgrades?
 
Run an air gap instead of the victor would be my 2 cents. Unless you plan on juicing it. Then go single plane.
 
75 DartSport I did the same build as you are looking at,do it you won't be disappointed!
 
Flipper, what cam did u use. Did u use the oem roller lifters. What heads. And did it start out as the 300 crate motor?
 
Yes a crate motor and RHS heads and factory rollers in a 89?block(can't remember)also got cam and heads from Brian at IMM,cam specs can't remember right now but around .544 maybe can't remember the duration,I bet Brian would be more than willing to help you spec out parts have an eddy 750 performer and performer rpm,crane gold rockers TCS pro street convertor and 4:11's cheap hedman hedders works real nice.Lots of fun.
 
I never heard of the 300hp la 360s but i have heard of the 300hp 360 magnum crate engines i have one, and if thats what it is you wouldnt be disapointed, its served me very well over the years.
 
The originals were commandoes if I remember right,mine was a 390 hp version which got you the .508 cam and torker 2 intake,lotsa bang for the buck.
 
pjc360 said:
I never heard of the 300hp la 360s but i have heard of the 300hp 360 magnum crate engines i have one, and if thats what it is you wouldnt be disapointed, its served me very well over the years.
Click to expand...
I remember them. They were made until around 93, replaced by the magnum crates. Seems like they were around 3k. Good deal back then.
 
Yes, the original Commando crate engines were LA versions. 360/300hp with a M-1 dual plane, .474" lift cam and 1.88"/1.60" heads while the 360/360hp had an M-1 single plane, .484" lift cam and 2.02"/1.60" heads. Not sure if compression was the same and/or if the 360hp version had some bowl porting. But they both used 308 and possibly 576 heads. I heard that KB-107 pistons were used for a time, then the Sealed Power hypereutectics.

When those were running out and production of the Magnum engines was sufficient, they switched to the 360/300hp and 360/380hp Magnums.

The IHRA Stock 360 crate I use is based on the 360/300hp Commando.
 
So were the commando crates I.m looking at not roller cams? He told me it had a roller cam. I may have to pull the intake off when I look at it.
 
The Commando crates came with hydraulic, flat tappet cams and stamped rockers.

I've been meaning to ask about that cat also!
It looks like he lost traction on the stainless(?) window sill and didn't get a good launch.
That real???
 
Could of been a roller block88,89,90,91?can't remember exactly but probably not a roller cammed crate engine in an LA roller block(confused?)could easily add a roller cam though.I don't believe the actual roller crate motors became available until the magnum crate based motor were released.
 
I was hoping it was roller already, so I could save some money not having to buy the lifters, and just buy a new bigger roller cam. Those damn lifters are high dollar!!!!!!!!!!
 
the block are roller blocks...but they used alot of the purple shaft cams in the engines...both 91 short blocks i have are roller blocks but came with mopar .509 cams....
 
Lifters are not high dollar USE the stock magnum lifters they're like a hundred bucks or something,you don't need retros.
 
Are the roller lifters about the same price as the retro fit roller lifters? Or what lifters would I need to buy since its already a roller block? Would the lifters and web out of a magnum engine work?
 
i have seen the new oem roller lifters sell from 50 dollars a set and up....on ebay...

if the engine does not have a hydraulic roller in it..it will need the dog bones and spider also..


the magnum lifter roller lifter do work...in fact the older oem lifters for LA engines have been superseded by the magnum lifters...only difference is the magnum lifter has provision to oil thru the pushrod whereas the LA does not.....your LA engine pushrods are solid so it will not use that feature.
 
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