What year 360?

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The dyno sheet didn't make it into that last upload; here it is.


BTW, the blower itself is a Vortech V-1, S-trim unit I bought new in the box off ebay for $1,000.00. So far I haven't had any problems with it except at an idle, it's pretty loud (straight-cut gears), but it gets quiet from about 1,000 rpm-up.

Vortech sells one with helical-cut gears that is supposed to be quiet. I've never heard one of those, so I can't verify that contention.

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pettybludart said:
I would just hand Fogel the cash,if I was that close to him.LOL!He seems to know his stuff!Between him(PFogel,Moper and waggin)you could come ahead with quite the 360,with limited spending?It would cost you$$but done right!My 2 cents!
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Pettyblu, you must read minds!!lol I would love to have Pat's help and you are right I probably live about 1hour or 2 from Pat. Moper is just a bit further by a few states, if not, I wouldn't mind his hands. Moper has given me advice before and he is a good guy. I was hoping for a buzz from Pat. Perhaps I will PM him. I really need help but I don't want to be a nuisance. I know Pat has his projects to work on.
 
3418496 is THE stock 360 block of choice, but beware, the main bearing design changed across the board in 1974 on all Mopar blocks.
This is the primary reason why some books differentiate '74 from '73 and prior, even though a '74 360 is the same casting number as it's predecessors.

The early 360s ('496 casting) used 340 casting cores and were bored .040 less, which is why they are purported to be thicker.

In actuality, a 340 is considered a "light" casting capable of safely sustaining a .040 overbore.
One can assume that a 360 will bore .080 over, possibly more, but I've seen things to the contrary, both positive and negative.

It's always wise to sonic test it before boring the crap out of it.

Mark.
 
Mark,

What is there about that block that would make you pick it over, say, a 1997 360 Magnum block? Anything other than the cylinder wall thickness?

What if you wanted to run it as a 4.00"-bore engine; any advantages?

Just curious.
 
If you are in the Pacific Northwest I have a complete (except for the alternator) 360 2 bbl fro a '76 Cordoba that I would let go cheap. Ran good the day I drove the car out to be parted (that was a few year ago). I have pics if anyone is interested. It is definitely U-haul


Steve
 
As has been mentioned earlier in this thread, a thicker cylinder seals better due to less flexing, that's the biggest benefit you would ever need.

That having been said, if you wanted beefier pan rails and main bulkheads, the '88-'92 360 EFI LA block has pan rails that are at the very least half filled, as compared to earlier blocks.

The difference in strengths depends on what you intend to do.
I will tell you that I've never heard or seen an early 360 having main cap or webbing failure, stroker or stocker, but I have always seen and heard of poor sealing and heating issues on later castings.

You know, I've had many 360 Magnum blocks in the past, but I've never viewed them with an eye towards "max horsepower", so I can't say how beefy they are in the main web, which is a good point to consider on higher horse strokers.
I have heard they are weak nearer the back, in the cam area in that they tend to crack there, but I have not personally seen this, nor can I suggest why and how they do it.

Mark.
 
Thanks for the good info, Mark!

If I decided to build a new 360-based engine using a Magnum block, I'd try to sleeve all 8 cylinders for better ring seal and not worry about the rest of the engine breaking up, as it won't ever make much over 600 hp with the tune I'll put on it.

It would be a 4" stroker with low boost (6-7 pounds) to give trouble-free power from 93 octane gas. Minimal boost will hopefully preclude detonation and the attendant head gasket failures.

Should run good on the street in a 3400-pound car.

Bill
 
Bill Dedman said:
Thanks for the good info, Mark!

If I decided to build a new 360-based engine using a Magnum block, I'd try to sleeve all 8 cylinders for better ring seal and not worry about the rest of the engine breaking up, as it won't ever make much over 600 hp with the tune I'll put on it.

It would be a 4" stroker with low boost (6-7 pounds) to give trouble-free power from 93 octane gas. Minimal boost will hopefully preclude detonation and the attendant head gasket failures.

Should run good on the street in a 3400-pound car.

Bill
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But to install 8 sleeves, your talking 750 -1000 bucks.
 
Cuda67, You said you dont have so much knowledge in take horsepower from engines and 500 HP is a big deal for small-blocks, eaven stroked. I would said that you think to buy a 408 crate right out the box from a good engine builder or a good shop. No headaches, just fun!

Br,
Minella
 
Lot's of good ( cha-ching$) ideas! Sometimes the real challenge is setting up the rest of the car ( trans, converter, gears, suspension, tires,weight of the car, etc.) to maximize whatever power you are making. I've seen lot's of cars with big power get outrun by a guy with less power and a slick setup. 50 HP becomes a moot point when the rest of the "system" isn't dialed in. Just a thought.....
 
sumbitmopar said:
Lot's of good ( cha-ching$) ideas! Sometimes the real challenge is setting up the rest of the car ( trans, converter, gears, suspension, tires,weight of the car, etc.) to maximize whatever power you are making. I've seen lot's of cars with big power get outrun by a guy with less power and a slick setup. 50 HP becomes a moot point when the rest of the "system" isn't dialed in. Just a thought.....
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Very good point. I'm in that boat right now. Haven't had my 360 dyno'ed yet but I think it's in the 400-410 hp range and even though it has power enough to run solid 12's I have only ran that once. The one time it hooked up good. All other times have been all over the place from 13.05~13.95 due to traction problems. I need to work more on the suspension to get the time down and be consistant.
 
71 to 75 is the best years of the 360 had the most zink in the block 71 came with higher compresion pistens i have a 75 360 in my 75 duster and i put the magnum heads on it runs good i bult it to do low 12s its got close to 400 to 410 hp
 
>>>"But to install 8 sleeves, your talking 750 -1000 bucks."

I didn't realize it was that expensive.

Maybe that's not such a hot idea, after all... :angry7:

Hafta reconsider that one.


Thanks for the heads-up.... :)
 
fishy68 said:
Very good point. I'm in that boat right now. Haven't had my 360 dyno'ed yet but I think it's in the 400-410 hp range and even though it has power enough to run solid 12's I have only ran that once. The one time it hooked up good. All other times have been all over the place from 13.05~13.95 due to traction problems. I need to work more on the suspension to get the time down and be consistant.
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Yea, it's kinda funny how tire pressure ( basically free $) can be as important as cylinder pressure (basically expensive$) when it comes to gettin' the job done! Personally, I think whatever year block you have is fine. Boring is for cleaning up a block, not building "Big Power". Check the cylinders out to find a block that'll take the least cleaning up. Rod bolts worry me more than what the zinc content in my block is. It's all those "little" things that tend to loom large, like exactly how good is that torque wrench?hmm....or, "where's my glasses, what does that dial say?". Small block Mopars are not like BB chevys when it comes to cracking apart at the seams! They're pretty dang tuff! Be sure to balance everything, assemble it right, and you'll be good to go. Spend the brain cells ( and $$) on getting the gases in and out and putting the power to the pavement.
 
sumbitmopar said:
Yea, it's kinda funny how tire pressure ( basically free $) can be as important as cylinder pressure (basically expensive$) when it comes to gettin' the job done! Personally, I think whatever year block you have is fine. Boring is for cleaning up a block, not building "Big Power". Check the cylinders out to find a block that'll take the least cleaning up. Rod bolts worry me more than what the zinc content in my block is. It's all those "little" things that tend to loom large, like exactly how good is that torque wrench?hmm....or, "where's my glasses, what does that dial say?". Small block Mopars are not like BB chevys when it comes to cracking apart at the seams! They're pretty dang tuff! Be sure to balance everything, assemble it right, and you'll be good to go. Spend the brain cells ( and $$) on getting the gases in and out and putting the power to the pavement.
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im with ya all the way spinning aint winning is what we always say and good set of heads will wake up even the most modest short block
 
Bill Dedman said:
.....I'd try to sleeve all 8 cylinders for better ring seal and not worry about the rest of the engine breaking up...
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Bill,
As much as I understand your theory, it has more inherent problems than fixes.
Cut and dried, the strength of the block is in the cylinders, as much as the ring seal is dependent on the cylinder's thickness and resistance to flex.
Most sleeves remove at least 1/2 the thickness of a stock block's cylinders, which also means you lose the strength of the cylinders that tie the deck and the lower pan rails together.
By boring out the stationary, fixed material of the cylinder and replacing it with a more or less floating mass, you have weakened probably one of the MOST critical areas of a smallblock Mopar, the block's deck.
You've decreased the cylinder's load capacity by half and, in some instances you anticipate further loading of the deck by installing studs, or better bolts.
Though the bolt holes on a small block do generally go straight to water, they are very close to the cylinders (as on most ANY stock block), which loads the cylinder with pulling stresses.

With only 4 bolts per cylinder to load the head gaskets, already a big handicap for stock block small Mopars, removing ANY extra material related to the deck or cylinders is tantamount to asking for trouble.

Don't get me wrong, sleeving is an excellent option, especially if it's properly done by cutting a step in the bottom of the bore to prevent downward slippage, but it's for the poor (to save a rare original block economically), or for the really rich (Big inch aluminum blocks with huge deck thicknesses), it seldom works as a quick fix for performance issues.

Most small block Mopar aftermarket blocks weren't designed with thicker decks and cylinders with heating issues in mind, but rather for strength, both in the deck and the cylinder.
Why? It's all about sealing.

It's why the only stock 360 block worth using ends in '496.

Mark.
 
Mark,

Well, now it sounds like an expensive idea that doesn't work very well...

I think I'll forget the sleeves!

Thanks a lot for the good advice!

A chassis dyno run of the 360 in my car says that my engine makes about 445 RWH, on 110 octane, with some alcohol injectied from a SnowPerformance Boost Cooler and an MSD BoostMaster retard unit, on ten pounds of boost from a belt-driven Vortech V-1, S-Trim blower.

It does that at about 5,500 rpm. Efforts to wind it tighter with the current setup do not yield any more power, so I think I'll put a 5,500 rpm chip in the MSD "Soft Touch" RPM limiter and live with it.

I don't know how reliable the rule of thumb is that says your rear wheel horsepower is about 85-percent of your flywheel HP, but if it's true, my engine makes approximately 525 flywheel HP, and with stock cast pistons and rods, and stock composition head gaskets (and, 9:1 cr), I'd say my engine is living on borrowed time, already.... I think I'll just run it 'til it grenades and build a 383, which I consider a much better choice for supercharging than a 360, anyway; 5 head bolts per cylinder, for one thing...:cheers:

What years were the engines that had the casting number you recommended?

Thanks again for the info....
 
1971-1974 uses the 3418496 block, but a few slipped out in '75.

I wouldn't complain at the build you already have, @ 445 RWHP is very respectable for a 360 with a lot of stock parts still involved.

A grenade won't blow if you don't remove the pin, so if the engine quits pulling at 5500 rpms, limit it at that, or a couple hundred under, and it'll be with you for a while.
I think you have already found something that works really well, IIABDFI, in my opinion.

Mark.
 
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