Which Rods and pistons for a 360?

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doogievlg

doogievlg

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I am getting ready to buy some new pistons for my 360 and was curious if I really should go forged. It's a street car that will go to the track a few times a year and I am not ruling out the possibility of a 100 shot in the future. Also is it worth the time and money to have it bored out and should I get new rods when I get the pistons?
 
Forged are better. No question. Hyper's will certainly work for what you describe , and I know they say they will take a small shot of juice. I think you will want the tune up to be correct if you go that way.
Stock rods with good bolts will take all you describe.
If the piston weights are significantly different...............hell , even if they aren't , I'd have it balanced by a quality shop.
As far as being worth it to bore , it really depends on the shape of the bores. If they will clean up with a light hone and you can still get inside recommended piston to wall , you are golden. If it is an old and / or tired motor , you probably want to go over size.
 
Well said. Thicker cylinder walls mean stronger cylinder walls that have less flex and a better seal with the pistons and rings. For what you describe, I myself would run a forged piston. It will handle lots of NO2. No worries there.

On the rods, if your OE rods are fine, then replacing them should only include the idea that they may not be strong enough to ha Dow the the extra power sought. New rods are cheaper, lighter and stronger than stock units that need a rebuild. For there price, there impossible to beat.

The question here (on rods) is how much power do you intend to make a d with how much of it with the juice?
 
I am shooting for around 350-400 and at the most a 100 shot on top of that. Right now it's a 360 with performer rpm intake ,Holley 750, mp .484 cam, mp distributor, headers, 3000 rpm stall. I am wanting to get the j heads worked over when I do the pistons too.
 
Icon makes a great budget forged piston,Scat I beam ,a great rod. Normally like hypers,nitrous prefer forged slugs if the coin is available.
 
I generally use 360 rods and 360 pistons in a 360.
 
doogievlg said:
Clever
Click to expand...

No, I was serious. Too many times you see people trying to figure cheap ways out by using chebbie rods and pistons in Mopar engines. I am a big proponent of the factory Mopar stuff. I would rather use a good set of reworked Mopar rods with good bolts than any of these offshore rods available. You see people grinding crankpins down to the chebbie size to use chebbie rods in different combinations. Mopar made those crankpins bigger than chebbie for a reason. That's one of the things that makes Mopars better engines, IMO, right along with the long rods.

So when I said 360 rods and pistons in a 360 that's what I meant. Parts designed FOR the 360.
 
RustyRatRod said:
No, I was serious. Too many times you see people trying to figure cheap ways out by using chebbie rods and pistons in Mopar engines. I am a big proponent of the factory Mopar stuff. I would rather use a good set of reworked Mopar rods with good bolts than any of these offshore rods available. You see people grinding crankpins down to the chebbie size to use chebbie rods in different combinations. Mopar made those crankpins bigger than chebbie for a reason. That's one of the things that makes Mopars better engines, IMO, right along with the long rods.

So when I said 360 rods and pistons in a 360 that's what I meant. Parts designed FOR the 360.
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thats right chebbie guys pay extra for what we get standard.....
 
FWIW I built a 360 10 years ago using stock rods, ARP bots and speed pro 116cp hypereutectic pistons. 8 of those years I beat the living **** out it. Over reving, 175 shot of spray, and just generally just trying to blow it up. I couldn't do it so it sits waiting for the next project car.
360 .030 over
MP.557 solid cam
2.02 J heads
speed pro pistons .008 in the hole.
 
breakstuff said:
FWIW I built a 360 10 years ago using stock rods, ARP bots and speed pro 116cp hypereutectic pistons. 8 of those years I beat the living **** out it. Over reving, 175 shot of spray, and just generally just trying to blow it up. I couldn't do it so it sits waiting for the next project car.
360 .030 over
MP.557 solid cam
2.02 J heads
speed pro pistons .008 in the hole.
Click to expand...

What times did you run?
 
Speed Pro's can take a hammering. Budget 360.Speed pro's 9:1 hypers. 223/234 @.050,.483/.501 lift,112 l/c hyd. Bowl worked J's/1.88 intake. Torker 2 340,4.10's,3600 stall. Sacramento Raceway(90 degrees), Ran 12:60's@ 106. 125 hit,12:20's @114.Worn out slicks,2.0 60 ft. The piston rod combo,outlived four cranks. Cheap bastard would spin it 7500 on N20,and run out of oil sump(stock pan).
 
doogievlg said:
I am not ruling out the possibility of a 100 shot in the future.
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If your budget allows for it, Forged pistons and aftermarket connecting rods are a very good idea. I would strongly recommend you build the most reliable motor you can, but as you can see some claim they have had great success with factory parts surviving in a high performance engine.

As for boring the block, it's best to have a reputable machinist take a look at the condition of the cylinder wall and he will be able to tell you what size pistons to buy.

Piston-to-bore clearance is different between forged pistons and hyper pistons, so you will have to decide on which you are going to use and stick to that plan or your machinist will tell you to go jump.
 
It's all in the tune. I use forged in any build that will likely see N2O or forced induction,but I have cheap customers that get away with 175hp shots on a factory cast piston,I still have to show up at the track to get the tune correct but even a good piston will die if you have no clue. the stock rods are not a problem if properly sized and decent bolts.
 
The key here will be a good machinist. If they try to build a 360 like a s/b chevy they'll screw it up.

Built with care, you couldn't kill a LA with stock Mopar innards if you stayed under 6000 rpm. And don't worry about it making horsepower. Chryslers make torque, gobs of it. Even Jenkins said torque moves a car and HP keeps it going, and he was a chevy guy.

My .02 is use exactly what you have, hypers if you don't have the budget for forged just yet. do a anal-retentive clean, measure and reassembly. On my J heads all I did was simply polish the runners (heck, I used a hand held Dremel, and found a tenth and a half). Hammer the snot out of it, learn a 360's likes and dislikes, build you a spray motor later.

I believe more people will be impressed with what you get out of a pump gas, stock internals small block, than a juice bullet. Go get 'em!:burnout:
 
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