360 build on a budget. Opinions????

65barracudadude,

Its funny, I am just finishing building a budget 360 right now.

I bought a 318/904 combo to swap in place of my /6 with a bad 904. It turned out the 318 was seized by rust, but had new rebuilt heads and a new rebuilt 904. I then found a 360 short block and heads to use instead, I used parts off both engines to make one. Here is my combo.

$100.00 Seized 318 and 904 trans
$0.00 Traded wheels for 78 truck 360 shortblock, every thing is good, clean, I used it as-is.
$59.00 new ebay 360 oil pan (360 is different vs 273/318/340).
$0.00 I used the 318 oil pickup, after cleaning
$0.00 318 fuel pump
$0.00 318 water pump
$25.00 Used 70' 340 4bbl iron intake
$22.00 Carter rebuild kit
$0.00 Carter 625 cfm Carb
$25.00 Used 360 balancer
$60.00 Craigslist Headers (new)
$98.00 Summit Cam and lifters 204/[email protected], .420/.440 lift
$22.00 Summit timing Chain
$69.00 Summit Speedpro gasket set
$60.00 Mopar converter balance weights.
$14.00 3" to 2 1/2" header collector reducers
$0.00 Old 2 1/4" dual exhaust from my 68 Dart
$182.00 Schumacher /6 to 360 mounts
$14.00 Summit air cleaner assy.
$25.00 Sprak Plugs, Cap, Rotor.
$20.00 AC small block bracket
$100.00 Misc Paint, lubes, lapping compound, brakeleen, degreaser, sealants, etc.
$895.00 Total cost so far.

As you can see, even though I have been trying to keep costs down, its all the little stuff that pops up and keeps adding to the total.

Overall, not a whole lot of money for a complete 360 swap. My combo should be good for about 320 hp, and about 400 lbft. Not a ton of power, but good for a daily driver. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that my 7 1/4 rear will hold up longer than a few days.