Does anyone make a flat top or domed piston for the 360? I am kind of kicking around the idea of staying with the shorter stroke 360 crank for higher revs. Has anyone else experimented with this before? thanks

 

This has been debated and desired for a long time. I think the answer is pretty much, no. Aside from custom pistons. Just another reason so many build up to a 390. It's easire to find a variety of pistons to get different comp ratios.

there was a recent thread on the Edsel 361 FE motor. It was basically a higher compression 360 if I remember correctly. It made nice power. But, good luck finding one of those engines or getting new pistons for it.

 

i don't think there are any dome pistons either. I recommend a 390 with a decent cam with springs that have 120lbs of seat pressure. The 390 will turn the rpm you were looking for in the 360 and more.

 

why not bore the block .010 and use .060 oversize 352 pistons?

 

FT comp height pistons are what your looking for or the 60 over 352 pistons. Problem is once you find a piston the right height, will it be able to handle the power you plan on making? This is the one thing no one can really guarontee...I plan on doing a 360 but I dont feel like spending the cash on custom pistons which i feel is the only way you can do it right. I mean lets face it If your gonna do it you will want to run a good amount of HP to make it worth the money spent and your gonna need a good piston to do it like a Ross.

 

Well, like they said, here's the problems with 360's:

1. Piston selection! There is NO, I repeat NO over the counter piston available to get decent compression and quench space in a 360. I'll repeat it again. NONE! The only option I can see is a domed 390 piston, then it'll ping like crazy from not utilizing quench.

2. The long rods aren't the best, not nearly as good as standard 390 rods, but they're still far better than some Chevy rods. They tend to stretch around 6000rpm, from what I hear. Keep this in mind when thinking of building any high rpm 360 based motor.

Now, I'd like as much as anyone to be able to build a high performance 360. Heck, I have two old complete 360's here, torn apart, just looking for homes. I also have a 352 block. I am going to be using the 352 block (already reconditioned) as the basis for a high compression ethanol motor sometime in the future. I had originally planned on using 332 pistons, but they would have to be custom made too, so the project is on hold. I'll probably end up ordering custom made pistons to my spec's.

I think we all need to petition a piston manufacturer, like KB - Silvolite, to make us some 360 pistons. A flat top piston, with valve reliefs, with a 1.868" compression height, would be perfect.

 

Ive asked Keith Black about a dozen times about it and never got an answer. I talked with Ross one time and they said they would make a set but it was like 900 dollars......but there forged one offs.