Help with 360
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Help with 360
Ok here goes. I just bought a 1978 F150 that has the drive train from a 1976 F150 in it. It is a 360 with a Borg Warner T18 tanny. Not suere on the transfer case. I plan on replacing the tranny since I have no need to pull up a tree or pull down a house. I really like the 3 speeds. Anyone have a recomendation?? Secondly I am gonna rebuild the motor and want Mild performance. I DO NOT want to replace it with 390 crank and upgrade that way. Its just not in my budget. I do plan on a mild cam (looking for torque and rough idle), 4 barrel intake and carb. It will not be a daily driver nor a highway vehicle so the low speed rear end in it isnt a factor. I just wanna be able to turn heads and have people say damn listen to that motor. It already has headers and flowmaster mufflers on it. It sounds good now I just wanna beef it up a bit. Any suggestions will be appreciated. By the way I have done numerous searches and seems that all advice anyone gives is go 390. Again this isnt in budget and not something I wanna do.
Dan
Dan
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,175
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From: Texas
Originally Posted by DanGinTC
(looking for torque and rough idle), Dan
The problem: a cam that provides a rough idle will typically make less torque at lower RPMS. That big cam sound you desire is for engines that make power at the higher RPMs. Also, big cams usually require more valve train upgrades, increasing your cost.
I personally like auto transmission in trucks. And the C6 is a great companion to the FE motor. I undrstand that 4 speed to be durable. If there's nothing wrong with the tranny, consider starting in 2nd. Otherwise, for a more sporty feel, I think the 4 speed top-loaders from FE powered cars are the next best choice.
As for upgardes to the 360:
1. exhaust- headers and 2.25-2.5" true duals exhaust with free flowing mufflers
2. A 4 barrel intake- Edelbrock has a couple options and there are some factory options. Aluminum is a back-saver. I personally like the Edelbrock RPM intake for most FE applications.
3. carb- 600 CFM vac secondaries- Edelbrock or Holley
4. Ignition- you probably already have a duraspark. just make sure it has good wires, cap and rotor.
5. Consider a cam similar to the Crane 901. Your low compression makes other cams a bad choice. I'm assuming you have standard truck 360 pistons with a low compression ratio of around 7.5-8:1
Last edited by gtex; Mar 6, 2005 at 02:36 PM.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Iowa
There is one and only one way to make your 360 into anything resembling a performance motor, and that is custom pistons. That is the only way to get the compression up enough to support the cam that will be required to make the motor sound different than stock. Custom pistons aren't cheap, and it would be cheaper to convert it to a 390. That's why most 360's are converted to 390's. If off-the-shelf pistons were available to raise the compression in a 360, that would change very quickly. But it's been 30+ years, and that still hasn't happened.
The Crane 343901 camshaft supports 8.0 - 9.5 compression. When calculated with 70cc combustion chambers, 10cc valve reliefs, .104" deck clearance, 4.4" head gasket bore, .041" thick head gasket, and 4.080" bore (.030" oversize) the 360's compression comes out to 7.66:1. Even the Crane 343901 is too big for a 360, and it is described to have a smooth idle! The only Crane cam that supports the compression ratio of a 360 is the 343971.
When you said converting to a 390 is not in you budget, how much were you figuring it would cost? You might be surprised at how cheaply you can get some of the stuff.
The Crane 343901 camshaft supports 8.0 - 9.5 compression. When calculated with 70cc combustion chambers, 10cc valve reliefs, .104" deck clearance, 4.4" head gasket bore, .041" thick head gasket, and 4.080" bore (.030" oversize) the 360's compression comes out to 7.66:1. Even the Crane 343901 is too big for a 360, and it is described to have a smooth idle! The only Crane cam that supports the compression ratio of a 360 is the 343971.
When you said converting to a 390 is not in you budget, how much were you figuring it would cost? You might be surprised at how cheaply you can get some of the stuff.
