Mother Mopar's Red-Headed Stepchild 360

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gagembassett

gagembassett

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Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar, but they are allowed at Mopar car meets and shows due to the fact that the two worked hand-in-hand with engineering back in the day and eventually joined together. So what is it? The Red-headed Stepchild AMC 360. What's everyone's take on them? Pros? Cons? Power capabilities? RPM capabilities? Yada yada yada. Just for something different! Throw in the others if you'd like to... 304, 390, 401 etc:thumbsup:
 
gagembassett said:
Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar, but they are allowed at Mopar car meets and shows due to the fact that the two worked hand-in-hand with engineering back in the day and eventually joined together. So what is it? The Red-headed Stepchild AMC 360. What's everyone's take on them? Pros? Cons? Power capabilities? RPM capabilities? Yada yada yada. Just for something different! Throw in the others if you'd like to... 304, 390, 401 etc:thumbsup:
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"Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar" -The 360 AMC is not even 1% 360 Mopar. There was a discussion on this 6 years ago here:
Mopar 360 have anything in common with AMC 360?


Mopar General Discussions
 
They are good low rpm torque engines, for trucks and Jeeps.
The biggest disadvantage is the stupid oil pump in the timing chain deal.
 
A56 said:
"Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar" -The 360 AMC is not even 1% 360 Mopar. There was a discussion on this 6 years ago here:
Mopar 360 have anything in common with AMC 360?


Mopar General Discussions
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Yes no **** I stated it even myself. But what none mopar brand is allowed at MOPAR car shows?
 
spark plugs are the same , they share transmissions types some dist caps and electricals
 
gagembassett said:
Not a Karen. If anything you are. Move along if you don't like it. I stated the obvious right off the rip and you just regurgitated it with different words
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Boring, already discussed. You must be looking for attention.:icon_fU:
 
I have been around a few AMC's in my day, but most were stock and ran pretty well, mainly because the cars were light for what they were. One though was bad ***. A 68' AMX that was a 343, 4spd, 4.11 car. Had all the bolt on's and pretty good size hydraulic cam. Probably only weighed about 3k with the owner in it. That car got into the 12.60's in good weather conditions.

Oh, and that was in the early 70's. :)
 
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like Pontiac V8's(except 265 and 301), the external sizes are the same. For a "small" block displacement, it has a large bore,4.08" and medium stroke,3.44. Intakes stock are 2.025 and exhaust 1.68. BBM valves fit, 2.08 and 1.74. Oiling system is what it is. Could stroke it with a 401 crank, if you can find one inexpensive. Heads are good flowing. They are externally balanced.
 
gagembassett said:
Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar, but they are allowed at Mopar car meets and shows due to the fact that the two worked hand-in-hand with engineering back in the day and eventually joined together. So what is it? The Red-headed Stepchild AMC 360. What's everyone's take on them? Pros? Cons? Power capabilities? RPM capabilities? Yada yada yada. Just for something different! Throw in the others if you'd like to... 304, 390, 401 etc:thumbsup:
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The Rambler SCs had 360 engines and were fairly stout. I ran a 401 in my 68 AMX drag car for many years and never had any issues. It was a 1971 401 which came from the factory with forged crank and rods, so the bottom end was strong. I believe they only did that for the 1971 production year and then went the cast crank and rods in 1972. My 401 short block was all stock, but with oiling mods. Used the factory 'dog leg' heads which performed pretty well. Everything else was just bolt on goodies. It would run consistent 11.0s all day.
 
sireland67 said:
They are good low rpm torque engines, for trucks and Jeeps.
The biggest disadvantage is the stupid oil pump in the timing chain deal.
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See and that's where I'm surprised. That they are a low rpm torque engine. I would've figured with the 4.080 bore and the 3.44 stroke that it would've been similar to a 340 with it loving to rev high rpms. Still haven't figured out what in their design makes them favor low rpm
 
gagembassett said:
See and that's where I'm surprised. That they are a low rpm torque engine. I would've figured with the 4.080 bore and the 3.44 stroke that it would've been similar to a 340 with it loving to rev high rpms. Still haven't figured out what in their design makes them favor low rpm
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maybe it's the way they are cammed from the factory? low compression? most combo's run better with a Torker than an air-gap for street and strip. I would have tried one but the engine I had chewed up the thrust bearing and crank. Got discouraged and sold that and the 401 short block.
 
gagembassett said:
See and that's where I'm surprised. That they are a low rpm torque engine. I would've figured with the 4.080 bore and the 3.44 stroke that it would've been similar to a 340 with it loving to rev high rpms. Still haven't figured out what in their design makes them favor low rpm
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Small cam and crappy heads.
The 401 and 390 were decent.
My buddy has a built 401 in a CJ-5 that sob sounds like a late model stock car when it opens up.
And he beats on it in the mud.
 
gagembassett said:
Okay so this isn't necessarily 100% a Small Block Mopar, but they are allowed at Mopar car meets and shows due to the fact that the two worked hand-in-hand with engineering back in the day and eventually joined together. So what is it? The Red-headed Stepchild AMC 360. What's everyone's take on them? Pros? Cons? Power capabilities? RPM capabilities? Yada yada yada. Just for something different! Throw in the others if you'd like to... 304, 390, 401 etc:thumbsup:
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A member of our AMC club builds some nice 360's. 450hp is not out of the question.
 
Ha low rpm engines lol, quite a few around me that rev well past 7 grand and run extremely well.
 
Years ago my cousin had a pair of four speed AMX's, one was a 390 and the other was a 401. Both ran well.

I've never considered the old AMC stuff as Mopar, more like a step brother.
 
AMC engines cost even more to rebuild than Mopar engines. High Performance parts also are costly. If you rebuild a AMC 360-390 you better do the oiling modification.
 
The heads were in fact so crappy that everybody in pro stock through the 70s wanted their port design. Fred Brewer put the AMC design to good use in the big block Mopar heads he came out with. Anybody wanting to compete with a big block Mopar in pro stock on the 70s had his heads. So no, AMC head design and port configuration was some of the best there was. Read up on it.
 
They actually cut and sectioned 2 heads to make the pro stock heads. Then they outlawed them. lol
 
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