The only other choice i have is to find some 352hipo rods. The books say that the 1960 hipo352 had thicker long rods like the short ones(thicker beam) but yea right! those are probobly like a needle in a hay stack.

 

If you're gonna spend the money on finding the hi-po 352 rods, then you may as well go with a custom set of rods. The long rod route would be much better than tall pistons, you'd improve the rod/stroke ratio which will improve torque, tall pistons as I said add nothing to the performance other than to raise the comp ratio and improve the quench. But one thing I wonder, if you're gonna spend all that money on custom rods and pistons, why limit yourself to the choice of two off the shelf cams, when there are far better possibilities with other grinds, custom or off the shelf ? Seems like quite a few guy's here are stuck on the same two cams and one is only marginally better than a stock cam.

 

Well It was the easiest way to go I didnt want to bother with a custom grind and i dont care for the comp cams cuts. I prefer Roller cams my self, Nothing beats friction free horse power.....This motor was just a cheap idea i thought i could get away with, originally I was just going to build it with a blower.....but i thought i could get this one built for alot less. If it where blown i would just buy short rods and get pistons tall enough to get me to 8:1 and call it a day throw 5 psi in it and have a blower. Oh well maybe some day.

 

On the BBC rod idea, I think it wont work. You'd end up spending more money on custom pistons for it, buying the rods, and getting the crank cut down to accept the BBC rods than if you just bought custom FE pistons. It would give you a phenominal rod ratio though.

The only thing I can think of right now is custom pistons.

 

Yea thats what i came up with too. I think I'll keep this idea on the back burner untill i have time to just tinker with a spare motor and then i'll spend the money on the right parts and it wont matter about buying custom pistons and rods and stuff. I want a blower i think that would really make up alot for the lack of stroke but i can only run 5-6 psi with the stock crank so I'll just let it ride for a while....but it will be done one way or another. I'll move forward with the 416 for now i know it will work.

 

I've come up with a number of possibilities.

1. Use .080" oversize 1960 352 pistons (.030" oversize block bore). The 4V version had a compression height of 1.85". This gives .030" deck clearance when used with standard 360 long rods. Use .020" thick head gaskets and you'll have 9.68:1 compression.

2. Use .080" oversize late 1958 332 pistons (.030" oversize block bore). They have a compression height of 1.938". This puts the piston .006" above the deck. Use a .040" thick head gasket and short rods and you'll have around 10:1 compression. This is the thing to do if you can find the pistons.

I'd head down to napa and see if you can find some 332 pistons.

 

Would it be wise to shave .006 off those pistons...? Or is that possible?
I found these and they say 9:1...but It doesnt calculate that for me I keep getting 8.54:1 http://kb-silvolite.com/spistons.php...tails&S_id=141

 

You wouldn't need to shave 'em. Even at .006" above deck, you've still got .034" clearance due to the head gasket.

Those silvolite pistons, #1129, might work with a .020" thick copper shim head gasket. I got 9.01 compression with that, and long rods. Use that and a 901 cam and you'd have a good 360 for your truck.

 

What do you think about the comp cams 275deh or the 270 or 280h cam?

 

I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I like the crane selections better. Not only do they make more power in DD2k, you dont really hear stories of them breaking in two, flattening lobes, or screwing up the distributor drive gear.

For the 10:1 buildup I like the 941, for the 9:1 buildup the 901 is the way to go.

 

Thats cool i agree, I was just looking for something like the 901 but with more duration.

 

The 272 degree Energizer is probably what you want then.

 

That cam does look pretty good. Got a little more lift and duration on the intake side. I wonder how much differance that would make? Maybe just raise the top end sum?

 

That cam is somewhere between the 901 and 941. I think you really want a dual pattern with the stock heads to make up for the relatively poor exhaust port flow. However, the 134052 (272 energizer) does surprizingly well in DD2k. Crane recommends 8.75 to 10.5 compression ratio for it, so you're pretty safe there.

I'd still go with the 941, as it produces more top end hp.

 

Well i was planning on running edelbrock heads and intake. I guess it all depends on what compression ratio a can achieve.

Actually I think ill go with cast heads for this so i can use shim gaskets. can the c8ae-h heads be machined out for cj valves? I like the c8ae-h heads have smaller chambers....but the intake ports are short 1.93xWhatever but i would love to have larger valves. I just hate the big 75cc D chambers. I guess I could shave the heads.