Twin Turbo 1971 Scamp Project
As an owner of a car with an LA motor, i completely disagree. These engines are crap compared to the LS. They just can't compete in the realm of street motors. You can't take an LA, give it 400hp+ and have nearly the same drivability.(which has to be considered with $4.00+ a gallon)
I can't argue with your comparision of the 360 vs. LS motors because the heads on the G,M. engines flow so well... but I'd like to present this following information with a comment or two, for your perusal.
I had a 318-powered '72 Valiant into which I swapped a low-mileage 360 Magnum (904) with the only engine changes to the 360 being a mild Hughesperformance cam and a Hi-Rise intake with a 750 Holley 4bbl. I did add a pair of 340 cast iron exhaust manifolds and dual exhaust at the time.
It made 262 RWHP and ran 13.30 @ 102mph.
Unhappy with those numbers, I swapped in a set of TTI stepped-headers, a
Vortech V-1, S-Trim belt-driven centrifugal supercharger (E-Bay purchase for $1000.00, new) and a Chinese-copy of an Air Gap intake manifold that mounted a blow-thru 750 Holley double-pumper 4150 carb.
Now, with
no other changes, it made 445 RWHP and ran a traction-limited mid-11-second quarter mile e.t. at 118 mph.
That was with 10 pounds of boost.
I want to reiterate that except for the pretty mild, aftermarket cam (214/218 @ .050-lift; .525" gross lift, ground with 115-degrees of lobe separation) and a different intake manifold (Air-Gap clone) this 360 Magnum short block was 100-percent stock, with cast pistons, stock rods, and .040" compossition head gaskets.
I have, since, put a bigger (9"-wide) tire on it and changed the final drive from 3.55:1 to 4.10:1. My best 60-foot time with the prior setup was only 1.81-seconds, and that is not very good for a car with this car's potential, I think.
My point in all this is to attempt to point out that yes, the LS motors are really good, compared with a 360, but you can still have a lot of fun and go relatively quick with a 360 for not a lot of money.
I am hoping that with the new, wider tires and the 4.10 gear, my 60-foor times will improve to the extent that by removing some weight (back seat, fiberglass hood and front bumper,) I might even collect a high-10 second timeslip with this old tub.
So, how fast do you want to go? I think that a virtually 11-flat ride like mine is about as quick as is practical for a daily-driver, and I haven't even pulled the heads off the block, yet. It's all just bolt-on stuff, so far...
Driveability? My car idles happily at 475 rpm, (makes 12-inches of vacuum for the power-brake booster,) has gobs of low-end torque (stock 318 converter) and basically has the road-manners of a stock 318, due to the very mild cam.
My contention is that you can have TONS of fun with a 3,000-pound hobby car without breaking the bank or reverting to swapping in a non-Mopar engine.
Then again, maybe I'm just gettin' o-l-d... LOL!
My 2-cents...:glasses7:
