best way to get 360 to 350hp with gobs of torque

[crazycanuck]

what it the best way to get about 350 horse with gobs of low end torque idle to 5K will a simple performer intake 5-600cfm carb+sum 8600 cam with stock compression fit the bill, maybe a set of shorty headers from edelbrock fit the bill, modern ignition of some kind, any other recomendations, finally have the place and time to do the build, any recomendations?

[fifesjeep]

Personally... Money and time will dictate the out-come of this... Efficiency is t he key with these engines... (After you take care of their oiling issues which bulltear has it covered and beyond!).
But if you have the 8600 cam... I wouldn't go with a carb that is less than 600cfm... I'd say 670 would suite that cam better... But then again the 600 might help out on the lower end... top end will suffer or choke the engine a little.
I don't see the 360 pushing 350hp with an Edelbrock performer intake, 8600 cam, 600 carb and shorty headers... Maybe 275hp??? I would drop in an MSD ignition or even the AMC HEI Distributor that Bulltear sells here for a great price.
You could also move up in Rockers from the 1.6:1 to the 1.7:1's... this will help the lower end a little along with opening and closing the valves quicker... But if you do that machining might be needed... you could also get rid of those heavy valves and go with the lighter Chevy valves... Less weight is better... Only you'll be spending a little more money on the Machine work... Do your research on RV/Torque cams...
I guess the logical question would be.... How much or what is the cut-off limit that you're looking at!? This will determine the do's and don'ts... ie: the work needed to get 350hp out of this 360. And Also, what will this engine be used for....

[jeepsr4ever]

A nice RV style camshaft, performer intake and carb and a set of heads with slightly larger valves (throat cut as well). This should get you where you want with low end and midrange. 350hp isnt alot to ask for but it takes a little effort to get there...not much just getting the right combo.

[fifesjeep]

He's going to love his gas mileage.... hahaha
I know with my 360 I ran through a tank of gas, 101-103 Octane (25 gallons)... REAL QUICK!!! Break-in period, fluctuating the rpm ranges... Idling in the driveway pissing the neighbors off... Down the driveway a couple of times, down the road about 1/2 mile. The next weekend I went to fire her up and she fired... (Sounding like the COMPCAMS 292 only this 360 has a little more of a lope to it)... About 2 minutes into warming up it stalled... Scratching my head I checked the tank... Sure enough EMPTY!!!!
That's a sure sign of a Healthy Thirsty 360... I know I'm well over 350... the local Garage who did the machining asked what I was going to put this motor into and when I said "A JEEP!" He said that I was crazy!!! These guys did a lot of machining for a REAL CHEAP PRICE!!! (I owe them I ride in te Jeep... ) American Performance out of Florida helped with some ideas to Push this motor over 400hp... I still have to get it dynoed when I get back to Va...

[crazycanuck]

i think that 1500- 6000 rpm would probly be better suited, it is to play in the mud(there are no rocks to speek of here) with highway use 270 horse would be fine but i just want a little more and think 350 should be affordable and driveable, would i have to loose too much bottom end if i were to try and get 350 horse and go for larger cam+intake?

I priced out intake(edelbrock performer) and carb(670truck avenger) at cdn tire at $1100 canadian(will shop around) that leaves me with about 3k to spend on others, 5-600 on cam+lifters,700 on exhast,400 rockers, that leaves me at 3000 spent and 1k left for others what else would be recomended to do with this?

i guess my biggest question is this --- is 4k cdn (3k us basically because of exchange and tax) enough to get a torque engine that also has 300+ horse and am i on the right track?

[jeep_man_401]

I hope you are doing the complete assembly of the engine...fitting the rings, bearings...etc etc. Otherwise 3K isn't going to come close with a 360 starting from stock. Parts add up fast also!!(and the things you didn't think of also!)

It can be done, but good machine work alone will run close to that after having the heads gone through. Unless you valve grinding tools...

My 2cents worth.


I know I'm dreading after the transfer case is fixed...10MPG running prem. gets expensive fast...and the talk is of $4 gallon gas now.

[Goose]

I'll vote with MC on this one..My 360 is in that range.. and It is Driveable reliable and a bunch of fun. Nothing exotic. a Good solid Bottom end rebuild. (I had to take mine .060 over as it needed that make the cylinders round again) but a little valve cleanup work a R/v Cam.. (Edelbrock, Comp cams ) and your performer manifold..I use a Torker manifold and for what ever odd reason it works well also. It truly doesnt take exotic stuff to get 1 hp per cubic inch.. the 350 LT1 Chevy makes 375hp and it is very old tech with some pathetic flow numbers compared to the AMC. To reach that target..Headers and decent exhaust for sure. But If you start reaching for 400 horse and above you will have to spend much more money.

Keep in mind too that 350 hp sounds cool, but 400 ft lbs of torque is what you will feel.

[coiler]

Hey crazycanuck what province are you in. I am in Saskatoon just starting a build up of a 401 long block.

[fifesjeep]

I personally liked Halifax... A lot of Canadian women.. Isn't the ratio something like 4:1, Females to Males???

[crazycanuck]

southwestern Ontario near London.....yeah....no money in halifax...the men all go west to fort McMurray they even have recruitment drives down in mexico

i havent decided how deep i want to get, the engine only has 120k km on it(80ishk miles) so i think the intake, carb, headers and complete valvetrain will be it for the top end, i will remove the heads and have everything checked out by a proffesional, if need be i can divert some funds i had intended to go to rims and tires towards the bottom end along with some other things to be delayed i can put a totall of 5-6 cdn if need be