Opinions on low end 360?
well, I made the cam choice based on getting the most power out of the combo while retaining power in the cruise range with the 3.23 gears and 275 tires which comein about, 28 inches?
The next cam down would be so bad ether.
Your idle time is just that. Idle. Not really moving. And if so, through the parking lot?
Cruise speed. The cams listed RPM range is 1400 and up. It will pick up some over 2200 and feel all right from 2500 and above, where you'll be driving at, on the Hwy.
So, is it stupidity? The idea of a cam not being flexable enough or a car/engine/drivetrain set up not being flexable enough is not seeing the big picture. IF you feel my suggestion isn't fitting and I fall under the stupid, OK fine. I'll accept the insult and carry on. Sorry for bothering you.
I did absolutely not intend to assault you or anyone else! I really apologize if I did. English is not my first language so I guess I sometimes write in a way that sounds rude. I guess it differs in how we speak too. Our language can sometimes sound a little blunt. That's how it is here in cold Sweden. Sorry again, and I mean it!
I have put together some engines over the years, not any small blocks, and I have eventually realized that I have built engines for street racing and I don't street race so often any more. And never will with this car since i have a 71 Charger for that purpose.
I don't exactly know how i should put this to not make people angry again. The 360 i have is a typical hot rodded small block. It runs pretty okay from bottom and gets happy at 25-30 miles on first gear. The power curve climbs higher then I dare to keep my foot down. Very fun in a way but not what I'm looking for. The 2,200 converter helped a little but I still missed my goal. Then I started thinking of if it would be possible to build a very low end power engine that really met my needs. I am not interested of what happens beyond 3,500 rpms since I very seldom will be there.
The long ram intakes that Chrysler put on heavy cars in the early 60's has been a source of inspiration for me. They was built with a similar idea. IIRC they made maximum torque at around 2,800 rpm's and there's a good point in that. Passing-without-downshifting-kinda-power :)
Now I don't have any plans of trying to build long ram induction for my 360, but 5.9 liters is not a very small engine after all and I still think it would be possible to get a happy low end engine with that displacement with a 180 deg intake, a good cam and a suited compression ratio and combustion chamber. And in these terms I really mean idle to around 3,000 rpm's. There's very few freeways in Sweden so even if I would drive long distances I would be cruising at around 50, sometimes at 60 mph, but more often at 40 on winding sideways and byways. Maybe I would have said that in an earlier moment...
My wish is to get a snappy, happy engine that easily breaks these 275's loose from standing still and purrs like a kitten under 2,000 rpm's. I have no idea how much peak torque/power (or little) it would make. The numbers would probably not impress anyone, but the seat of the pants impression could be something else. It would probably be easy on gas too.
Maybe I'm the one who's a crazy stupid oddball?