so ive got some money and a 360 yeahhh

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1970-dart

1970-dart

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a stock 1973 360( with j-heads) and it is complete minus the intake and carb. i got an intake and carb at a car show last summer and not sure if the carb is going to be good rebuild or junk. the intake says torker 340 on it and thats about all i know at this time as it is at a buddies house. Also my current oil pan is no good so that needs to be replaced as well and i know i need to deal with drivers side the motor mount issue and the balanced flex plate.

I wanted to build a stroker but thats not going to happen right now so want a good reliable motor and im perfectly fine if it sounds meaner/faster than it really is lol. the trans and rear came out of a factory v-8 74 swinger and my 70 swinger has a 1969/318 in it now. its pretty much a street car that will prob be run hat you brung one or twice a year at the track when the guys go

So whats the biggest cam that can be used with a stock j-head setup or a budget valve train setup for the j-heads to run something a bit bigger.I will prob do a 30 over on the block and the rest is up in the air.

I have 1500.00-1800.00 to spend and a buddy that owns/runs a machine shop and can do whatever i want. He and most others in my area are more chevy guys so i trust the thoughts/opinions here very much.

thanks in advance for any help or ideas.
 
You should save your money up more. You will spend that alone in good machine work.
 
oops i copied the wrong one lol.

but i will have to wait and see what money will be when the machine shop stuff is complete. I am more focused on just building a good solid/dependable motor that i hope to sound mean even if it is not lol
 
RustyRatRod said:
You should save your money up more. You will spend that alone in good machine work.
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Plan on using my buddy but he is like 2.5 hours away so just doing some quick checking with some more local machine shops. And the cleaning and tolerances checking of a motor is not that expensive and rebuild kits for a stock type motor seem to be pretty reasonable. I dont see why a guy cant do a basic stock rebuild (with some minor upgrades) on a small block mopar for around 2k.
 
Big cams require deep gears, good stall converter and high compression how far you willing to go on those?
Or you could go with a thumper type cam if all you want it to do is sound nasty.

I'd go 9:1, headers, comp or voodoo high lift around 268-275 degrees, rpm 750 and 3.55:1 gears.
 
273 said:
Big cams require deep gears, good stall converter and high compression how far you willing to go on those?
Or you could go with a thumper type cam if all you want it to do is sound nasty.

I'd go 9:1, headers, comp or voodoo high lift around 268-275 degrees, rpm 750 and 3.55:1 gears.
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ya i just want it to run and sound good as i am over the go real fast days and it was my dads car so i wanna keep it real drivable. i have headers on the car now dont wanna get crazy with the gears and converter.

i have found some kits that come with pistons/bearings/gaskets and the rest of the shooting match for around 500.00 and i have the rest of the stuff on my 318 and pretty much all of it can be re-used. I have a line on the motor mount i need or just shim the one i have also the flexplate and the oil pan cause mine is crap.

i want to just do a nice 360 ( maybe 30 over)with the biggest cam i can run with the stock j-head.

thanks
 
I'm thinking your talking about stock j heads as in no porting ? Not as not machined for valve spring clearances, cause you can pretty much run large as you want to. Way more than would be streetable.

The engine recipe I gave to me is a basic street build anything over that you start to get into street strip engines and anything under mild street.
 
Well, if you have a good 360 motor, and all your interested in doing the basic "new rings and bearings" then you can have a machine shop hone the block and do the rest at home. You can buy a basic over haul kit with gaskets for maybe 300 bucks. A new carb/intake combo will be 500-600 bucks if you stay modest. A decent street cam & lifters will be another 200. I would have the heads gone over (check valve guides, valves, etc) and this be cheap or be a big bill, depends on the shape of the heads. So yes, if you can do the assembling, you can probably put it together with new cam, carb, intake and a freshened long block for your money
 
Or just buy a good 360 magnum from the salvage yard for 400 bucks, buy a intake and carb (another 600), and install it like it is (with your timing chain cover). At least you would have the roller cam for todays oils... and about 300 hp
 
1970-dart said:
Plan on using my buddy but he is like 2.5 hours away so just doing some quick checking with some more local machine shops. And the cleaning and tolerances checking of a motor is not that expensive and rebuild kits for a stock type motor seem to be pretty reasonable. I dont see why a guy cant do a basic stock rebuild (with some minor upgrades) on a small block mopar for around 2k.
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Maybe I can chime in here. I'm building a 340, you're building a 360. I have a 318 to rob parts from, so do you. I'm in this thing over $2,000 already and initially I thought Id be in it for a lot less.. Maybe your friend will cut you a deal on machine work but a business is a business and he's got to keep the doors open. There are two machine shops around here that I know of and one will do $1,100 for machine work and parts for a complete engine build. Boring the block, honing it, valve job, all that stuff. Will it get balanced? No. Line hone? Nah. How good is the valve job? Not very. The other machine shop, the one I went to, does better work and it costs more. My block is already done but I sent them my cylinder heads, crank, rods, Pistons, balancer and flywheel. Machine work and parts (rings, bearings, ARP bolts) came up to $1,250 and I know everything is done right and will last a long time. That leaves $750 left before the $2,000 mark. Well the flywheel, balancer, and rods were $300. Down to $450 now. Cam & lifters were $200, all my gaskets were about $100. Down from $2,000 to $150. I still haven't figured in the cost of a machined block, Pistons, fluids, or any of the other little things that i bought. Cheap machine work + cheap parts = cheap engine. I say spend the extra money right now to save yourself from having headaches down the road. So can you build and upgrade an engine for under $2k? Sure. Will it be bulletproof and last a long time? Probably not. Just my $.02
 
BlueDream said:
Maybe I can chime in here. I'm building a 340, you're building a 360. I have a 318 to rob parts from, so do you. I'm in this thing over $2,000 already and initially I thought Id be in it for a lot less.. Maybe your friend will cut you a deal on machine work but a business is a business and he's got to keep the doors open. There are two machine shops around here that I know of and one will do $1,100 for machine work and parts for a complete engine build. Boring the block, honing it, valve job, all that stuff. Will it get balanced? No. Line hone? Nah. How good is the valve job? Not very. The other machine shop, the one I went to, does better work and it costs more. My block is already done but I sent them my cylinder heads, crank, rods, Pistons, balancer and flywheel. Machine work and parts (rings, bearings, ARP bolts) came up to $1,250 and I know everything is done right and will last a long time. That leaves $750 left before the $2,000 mark. Well the flywheel, balancer, and rods were $300. Down to $450 now. Cam & lifters were $200, all my gaskets were about $100. Down from $2,000 to $150. I still haven't figured in the cost of a machined block, Pistons, fluids, or any of the other little things that i bought. Cheap machine work + cheap parts = cheap engine. I say spend the extra money right now to save yourself from having headaches down the road. So can you build and upgrade an engine for under $2k? Sure. Will it be bulletproof and last a long time? Probably not. Just my $.02
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Excellent explanation, sir.
 
Thanks and scratch it all because I'm gonna borrow some from savings and buy one already rebuilt and complete.

Thanks for the Imput everyone.
 
Whoa son. This thread ain't over yet? Tell us what you're new budget is and where you plan on getting this "rebuilt and complete" engine.

Personally, I would have bought this 360 in your state. It supposedly has 1000 miles on the rebuild and comes with a complete set of gaskets for $500. Maybe he'll have some receipts or documentation? The water pump looks fairly new. Tear it down, check things out, put it back together with the new gaskets. Sell what ever parts you have left over between the two engines. Use that money to buy more parts!

Craigslist ad in VT

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BrianT said:
Whoa son. This thread ain't over yet? Tell us what you're new budget is and where you plan on getting this "rebuilt and complete" engine.

Personally, I would have bought this 360 in your state. It supposedly has 1000 miles on the rebuild and comes with a complete set of gaskets for $500. Maybe he'll have some receipts or documentation? The water pump looks fairly new. Tear it down, check things out, put it back together with the new gaskets. Sell what ever parts you have left over between the two engines. Use that money to buy more parts!

Craigslist ad in VT

00t0t_gA3YU78MEHY_600x450.jpg
Click to expand...

i could prob pretty much do that with my current 360 because it ran when pulled. I worked a deal to get one from member that is pretty close by so its a win for me because with the exception of the bolt ons from my 318 its pretty much a drop in motor
 
and originally i said 1500-1800 but then i figured i could sell a couple things and borrow a little out of savings and can come up with around 2200.00 maybe 2500.00 if a sell one of my older rifles lol

i just sold my snowmobiles and trailer to pay back savings for what i borrowed to pay for my stepfathers funeral. but we do what we gotta do for family right.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for great responses to this thread. I've been lurking around here , trying to inform myself before starting my own rebuild and this was helpful. I also appreciate the time some of you spend typing up answers to often repeated questions. Can't believe the price on the reman engine! I'd do that in a heartbeat if I wasn't bound to my numbers matching motor.
 
You could always do it in stages, you said you want a 408 and got a running 318 now.
Could put EQ's, airgap, and cam on the 318 with money you got now and save to build a 408 short block with 360 you have.
 
I can appreciate everyone stuffing machine work down your throat, but nobody has stopped to ask you if you have inspected the condition of the bottom end. Have you looked down the bores and seen anything interesting? Can you catch a finger nail on the top lands? Have you plasti-gauged the bearings?

Read up and use a beam-type torque wrench!
 
I think people make much more out of it than is needed. I'm running a 318 right now that I took from a dodge truck that was headed to the bone yard, but the motor ran really good. I gave the junk price for the truck (300 bucks). Pulled the motor, tranny, and still sold the body for scrap. Figured I have 150 bucks into the 318. I had to go to a car oil pan, so I installed a new rear main seal. I pulled the valve covers and put new valve guide seals (holding the valves up with a bent wire lol). Went ahead and put the big freeze plugs in new. Figure I have about 200 bucks into the motor, been driving and beating on it for 4 years, and it still runs like a dream. 360 magnums are easily available for 400 bucks in excellent running condition. Carb and headers you have 300 hp. You do NOT have to spend 2k on a motor to go to DQ, or burn a tire.
 
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