360 or 440?

[70bigblockdodge]

I just finished reading all the postings to this thread; therfore, I have come to the opinion that your heart is set on a big block car. So, my recommendation is that you wash, wax and clean that car to within a micron of its bare sheet metal. Then put an ad on CraigsList and sell it. Finally, invest the proceeds in another C-Body that already has a big block in it. This action will put you way ahead of any of the other alternatives previously discussed.

I tend to agree with this thinking also but if you really like or are attached to your car its probably a moot point. Also looking around for a car similar to yours with a big block and rotted then you will have 440/400 trans, and misc parts. Sorry missed the part of out of country.

 

[Moparhead]

Jose, every stroker 'myth' that you listed is exactly that, a myth. Most of the kits I've seen for the 360 start with a 4.03 bore, but the vendors that make them may be willing to customize for you without breaking the bank.

Wasn't trying to say the stroked 360 is a more powerful engine than the 440, was only saying you can get big block torque out of small block with a stroker kit while still saving weight. Weight is also power.

 

[Stormer]

Building the 360 is simple & there's plenty of meat left on the bone for what you'll do with the car.

Of course you can get more out of a 440 build but, as pointed out above, it's not a simple swap. Money much better spent on the 360. Unless, that is, you just want a big block. If so then go for it but there's absolutely no way that it's most bang for your buck.

 

[commando1]

Trying to get more cubic inches by boring a 360 .060 over (which I think is way too dangerous to begin with) will give you what, 15 cu. in.? Too risky.

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[Moparhead]

The basic stroker kits start with a .030 overbore

 

[Stormer]

Trying to get more cubic inches by boring a 360 .060 over (which I think is way too dangerous to begin with) will give you what, 15 cu. in.? Too risky.

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Agreed but there's nothing dangerous about a stroker.

 

[commando1]

Just keep it private.

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[Stormer]

Here ya go...

 

[Moparhead]

Blower...awesome

 

[Moparhead]

Hughes engines makes a 426 cubic inch stroker kit for the 360. Then you can have some fun with 426 call outs on the car ;)

 

[Stormer]

My 370 (6.1L) is stroked to 426 & you can stroke them all the way to 440.

I debadged mine though & I'll keep it that way.

 

[Moparhead]

Stealthy! I love it!

 

[polara71]

You can stroke a 440 more than you can stroke a 360 to. That's my point.
Ultimately, a 360 can never be better than a 440.

No one is claiming it to be......... This was in the original post ........."My 360 is recently rebuilt too, has aluminum intake, HEI ignition system and a 4BBL 625 CFM Carter AFB and 300 miles on it but sometimes, I wish to have "more power", not a racing car but just more power especially at low revs. I was thinking in upgrade heads on my 360, raise up the compression to 10.6:1 and install headers but now I have the chance to own this Big Block. If I own this Big Block I would put a 800 CFM thermoquad on it, headers, HEI ignition system, edelbrock performer RPM aluminum intake, aluminum water pump, raise up compression to 10.6:1 and maybe aluminum heads to make it lighter and the 360 will be stored for other project. Regardless of what engine I choose, I'm going to swap my TF727 to a lock up A518.

But here's the big deal on this decision: The engine will be on my daily driver so MPG in town and highway is important. I've read in some forums that the 360 must work harder to move my land yacht so will use more fuel than the 440 (especially in a city with hills like where I live). Take in count that I can be very happy with almost 12MPG in town and 14 -15 in Highway "

The 360 is the obvious choice for what he wants to do, now if he wants to lift the hood a lot and get a big wow, or do 140 mph on the freeway, easily, or wants high torque then the 440 is where its at

 

[josehf34]

Agreed but there's nothing dangerous about a stroker.

Jose, every stroker 'myth' that you listed is exactly that, a myth. Most of the kits I've seen for the 360 start with a 4.03 bore, but the vendors that make them may be willing to customize for you without breaking the bank.

Wasn't trying to say the stroked 360 is a more powerful engine than the 440, was only saying you can get big block torque out of small block with a stroker kit while still saving weight. Weight is also power.

I did a little research this afternoon about stroker engines and in all the comments that I read mentioned that in a stroker engine the pistons rings has a very little longevity, for example the rings in a 408 with a redline at 5800 RPM will last maybe 30000 or 40000 miles. Is it true or it depends of what rings is going to be used?

The basic stroker kits start with a .030 overbore

I'm going to contact with Hughes engines, maybe them has something to do with 4.020"

Trying to get more cubic inches by boring a 360 .060 over (which I think is way too dangerous to begin with) will give you what, 15 cu. in.? Too risky.

Just keep it private.

I can't bore .060 over, my conscience will not let me sleep

The 360 is the obvious choice for what he wants to do, now if he wants to lift the hood a lot and get a big wow, or do 140 mph on the freeway, easily, or wants high torque then the 440 is where its at

That was the reason I was considering the 440 swap but being a bit more sensible with my walley will be better to make something "interesting" with the 360 but only for street use, I don't want a high performance racer setup

 

[has2bmopar]

I support better heads, cam, headers, lower gears and the 518 overdrive transmission for the 360 for a daily driver and it could run very impressive for what little you invest... Most important key words here... "Daily Driver"

It seems you were leaning a little more towards the 440 which will run really well and likey more than you need.... Again for... a daily driver.

The stroker is even further down the road for a daily driver. All the things on your anti stroker list are not "myth", but they fail to explain why.

Do some research on rod ratios and their affect on piston skirts and cylinder walls for wear. The 360 has the worst rod ratio of any of our old Mopar V8s to start off. The other thing that is key to why you have people complaining about breaking rings and damaging cylinder walls is because of the short piston skirts that are the product of any stroker. A long stroke with a shorter deck height is where you run into potential problems. The piston has to get short and thus will wear more and is not as stable in the cylinder and it gets worse with the extra clearance that better forged pistons require.

For an occasional use weekend street car to eat up the competition, great, I have one RB 493 and 2 stroker Hemis but they will not be collecting a lot of miles and a 4.15" stroke in an RB block with a 10.72" deck is still pretty well proportioned. I was going to stroke my 360 for my boat to a 408, but when I saw how short the piston skirts got and that the oil ring went accross the wrist pin, I changed my mind, as the boat is going to be hard enough on the engine in the first place, and I plan on keeping it long term and using it as much as possible, so longevity made me stay with the stock stroke and a big block was too heavy, so I think the 360 was the best choice.

Here is the difference between piston heights on a 572 (left) and a 528 (right) in a 4.5" bore Hemi Mega block. The 572 ends up with a very short skirt, but as I say, it will not be driven very often. I like short skirts on chicks, but not on pistons.

 

[Moparhead]

Good examples has2b! Thanks! One question though, what's bad about a 4" stroke on a 4.030 bore as far as stroke to bore ratio goes?

 

[commando1]

383-2 to 1967 specs. Nothing is more reliable and runs smoother than that. And if I had a slab, that would be my engine of choice. You can get that to idle 550 RPM with the A/C on and not even know it's running. And it will leave a short patch of rubber.

 

[polara71]

Try the 360, till then.........

 

[josehf34]

I support better heads, cam, headers, lower gears and the 518 overdrive transmission for the 360 for a daily driver and it could run very impressive for what little you invest... Most important key words here... "Daily Driver"

It seems you were leaning a little more towards the 440 which will run really well and likey more than you need.... Again for... a daily driver.

The stroker is even further down the road for a daily driver. All the things on your anti stroker list are not "myth", but they fail to explain why.

Do some research on rod ratios and their affect on piston skirts and cylinder walls for wear. The 360 has the worst rod ratio of any of our old Mopar V8s to start off. The other thing that is key to why you have people complaining about breaking rings and damaging cylinder walls is because of the short piston skirts that are the product of any stroker. A long stroke with a shorter deck height is where you run into potential problems. The piston has to get short and thus will wear more and is not as stable in the cylinder and it gets worse with the extra clearance that better forged pistons require.

For an occasional use weekend street car to eat up the competition, great, I have one RB 493 and 2 stroker Hemis but they will not be collecting a lot of miles and a 4.15" stroke in an RB block with a 10.72" deck is still pretty well proportioned. I was going to stroke my 360 for my boat to a 408, but when I saw how short the piston skirts got and that the oil ring went accross the wrist pin, I changed my mind, as the boat is going to be hard enough on the engine in the first place, and I plan on keeping it long term and using it as much as possible, so longevity made me stay with the stock stroke and a big block was too heavy, so I think the 360 was the best choice.

Here is the difference between piston heights on a 572 (left) and a 528 (right) in a 4.5" bore Hemi Mega block. The 572 ends up with a very short skirt, but as I say, it will not be driven very often. I like short skirts on chicks, but not on pistons.

If a stroker engine is considerably weak, this discard the option of a stroker engine. Even so hughes engines replied my email and they said that can provide a stroker kit for 4.020" and said that a stroker engine is equal or even more reliable than a stock engine. I think that they are only trying to sell.

383-2 to 1967 specs. Nothing is more reliable and runs smoother than that. And if I had a slab, that would be my engine of choice. You can get that to idle 550 RPM with the A/C on and not even know it's running. And it will leave a short patch of rubber.

I don't have how to get a 383 engine

Try the 360, till then.........

This appears to be the best option. Now I think hughes engines iron non-prepped and non-ported heads will be fine due to it's small combustion chamber and If I'm right those are fast burn heads. I don't know what camshaft will be better so I need some help with this.

 

[Stormer]

Try the 360, till then.........

This appears to be the best option.

There ya go.