The idea of building a slant 6 engine to produce the same horsepower as a 360 at whatever level, stock 360HP or a 500HP engine, and be cost effective in comparison is unrealistic. The slant 6 engine, while beffy & durable indeed in stock trim, will certainly show signs of failure or required upgrading & maintenance to survuive on 20# boost. You're talking alot of cylinder pressure & heat build up. Also the fabrication time needed to install a turbo has to be considered. Induction piping & intercooler(another cost left out by the pro-/6 posters), custom exhaust, lubrication plumbing, & you wouldn't put all that into it without upgrading the rod & main bolts/ studs would you? A rebuild would have to be a given also. Forged pistons? Carb & intake manifold? You're not thinking about blowing it all through a little 1 bbl are you?
The OP didn't express the desire to build a 500HP 360, but since the comparisions were made as to cost effectiveness, you certainly can build a stock bottom end 360 to produce 500HP & a set of iron heads w/ mild porting W/ an inatke, carb & headers that can easily be street driven within a reasonable budget. Probably using a bunch of used parts from this site or ebay to lower cost more. Trans & rear upgrades would probably be on the list of upgrades for both builds so thats a wash.
To each his own. I appreciate the guys that take a 1 off combo & build it to run well. Unlike the majority of posters here I also like the guys that build the Hondas & other imports to run good #s. It's all hot rodding. But as we ALL know it almost always costs you 2X as much to do something as you originally think. IMO the parts & techniques are there for the V8 build over the six from a time & money standpoint.
