amc 304 to 360 head swap?

[jshankcj7]

I am rebuilding my 76' AMC 304 that I have in my jeep in my college auto class. I was wondering if 360 heads or if there are any other AMC heads I could swap on for more power. Everyone tells me to just get a 360 but that is not my option on my tight budget. Thanks for any of your guy's input! J.Shank

[tufcj]

The valves on the 360/401 heads are too big for the 304 bore. You would have to notch the cylinder wall for valve clearance, and even then the valve shrouding would cancel any gain.

You might try to find a set of 1970 304 heads, casting 3199517 which have a smaller combustion chamber and raise compression about 1/2 point.

Factory valves are pretty small at 1.787 and 1.406. I've seen them enlarged using a 1.9x Chevy intake valve and a 1.5x exhaust without the cylinder wall clearance problem.

Bob
tufcj

[amundaza]

I have a set of '79 304 heads ported and polished, with combustion chambers opened up to ~ 62 cc's (my guess, not checked yet). They are machined for 1.94" intake and 1.50" exhausts. Chevy valves with undercut stems are the way to go for gobs more power/flow over the stock 304 valve sizes.

Sincerely,
Greg Taylor :)
Oxford, MI