Small Block question

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HevD

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I am about to purchase a 360 for my 70 Dart Swinger. I plan on rebuilding it and mating it to my 904. That being said, the motor I am looking at is in an 80's dodge van. Are there any issues in or differences between a 360 from a van vs. truck vs. car? Any advice before I make the purchase would be great! What is a good/fair price for a junkyard 360? Thanks!
 
honesty for a junkyard 360 pricewise I'd say $150 complete cause I can get them all day for $100 at a local yard. You will have to get a car oil pan and pickup tube because truck and van oil pans are rear sump and the sump on car pans is more towards the front. If you know the engine runs it would be worth more also.
 
good luck with that 904, every 360 I have ever built eats 904's for breakfast. The last 360 I put together was a very mild 10 to 1 motor, and it killed a 904 after about 2 weeks of hard driving, swapped out for a fresh/stock 727 and it holds up just fine
 
Ive been runnig 904's for a while and so has my dad. He runs one behind his 422 ci small block and he launches it on about 11inch wide drag radials with no problems you just need to build it up a little
 
904's are capable of handling a lot when built right. Lots of fast cars running them all over the country. I won't run a 727 behind a SB that's less than 500hp. Even then, I'd prefer the 904. 904's take less HP to turn.

moparsegura - Sorry to read your issues with 904's
 
I got lucky and scored a tranny shop built 904 for 300 bucks off craigs list. I plan on using it behind my 408.
 
You might also need to get some car exhaust manifolds or headers. The truck exhaust flange on the driver's side pointed straight down towards the steering gear box on my son's '74 Duster. A car exhaust manifold has the flange more toward the rear of the engine and points away from the gear box.

The bracket on our van 360 located the alternator too high for our liking, but we replaced it with one by Buchillon.

Check into a heavier duty radiator, too. Maybe a radiator shroud.

You didn't say what the Swinger currently has for an engine, but if it's a slant six, you'll need to locate a V8 k-frame, or at least, obtain a kit to convert the motor mounts. See Schumacher Creative Services www.engine-swaps.com.

Jerry
 
Thank you everyone for your quick response! I love this site :) I sold my father in law's Jeep just now, so I am off to the yard soon to pick up my "new" motor.
 
HevD said:
I sold my father in law's Jeep just now...
Click to expand...

I sure hope he knew about that.
icon10.gif


Jerry
 
o yea, I have nothing against the 904, I would love to get a good one. my problem is that I can build a motor all day long, but get retarded when its comes to tranny's. I just buy one and try it out. They do very wheel in built/form.
 
Thanks again, I am about to pick up a motor from the yard, maybe on Monday... $100 sounds pretty damn good to me! Thanks again for the help, I will remember the oil pan issues. And, we'll see how the tranny goes.
 
What are the plans for your motor build? High HP or just good street motor. I have never done this but I have often thought that if I was wanting a good relialble V8 for a street car, I would try to find a good running 94-2001 model ram truck 360, take off the FI and use a mopar manifold and carb. I could have bought one of these not long ago in a salvage yard for $800 that only had 60K miles on it. Spend a little more on an intake carb and distributor and you are good to go....... Would be cheaper than a 360 needing a re-build???????
 
Which is a good point. I didn't really think of that. The reason I wanted to go with the rebuild is so I can learn a thing or two. I am "new" to this and want to see how it goes when I am building the motor. This motor will be built for street use at this time, so that is my plan. The yard I went to yesterday didn't have the $100 360 I had asked for, but did have the same block for $400. Needless to say I told him to pound sand. The hunt continues.
 
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