Did the 360 ever come with a forged crank?
Nope. All 360's came with cast cranks from the factory. But they tend to be stronger than the 340 cast cranks because of the bigger mains and more overlap between the main & rod journals. I believe the 340 cast cranks were specially treated and have read that some people believe certain 360 crank castings are of a higher quality than the others. But I haven't seen any confirmation of it.
Cast cranks have a thin casting line while forged have a wide one, about 3/8", that may look machined.
People have put the wrong balancer on cast cranks many times over the years. Your's may have been mistaken for a 318.
360's started to be cast in 1970 for use in 1971 model year cars & trucks.
Nope. All 360's came with cast cranks from the factory. But they tend to be stronger than the 340 cast cranks because of the bigger mains and more overlap between the main & rod journals. I believe the 340 cast cranks were specially treated and have read that some people believe certain 360 crank castings are of a higher quality than the others. But I haven't seen any confirmation of it.
Cast cranks have a thin casting line while forged have a wide one, about 3/8", that may look machined.
People have put the wrong balancer on cast cranks many times over the years. Your's may have been mistaken for a 318.
360's started to be cast in 1970 for use in 1971 model year cars & trucks.