360 build

texascj81

I'll be building a 360 in a couple of months and was wondering what ya'll recommend for internals that are a wee bit more than stock. Questions like which cam and lifter kit, roller rockers, oiling mods, etc, etc. Thanks in advance for the help.

zero cool

How are you going to use it? If you're just going to do trail riding and going back-and-forth to the mall, stock parts are just fine. If you're going to do serious mud bogging or other high performance application, you'll need to upgrade.

texascj81

About 50/50. I was thinking an RV cam & lifter combo to increase the torque band (what I was told).

texascj81

I know there is alot of knowledge out there. A little help guys?

Goose

Well I'll chime in, build the bottom end stock and put one of the edelbrock cam/carb/intake performer setups on it and I think you will be more than happy, I have a 360 built this way and another with the torker/edle carb setup with the crane cam in it (I'll have to look at the specs) and it is ok but the power band is a little high 1500 to 7000. kind mushy at the bottom end.. it would be great in a Gremlin with a high stall converter but in a CJ5 with a stick it's notexactly a good match (unless you mudrace), I would spend the extra on the oiling system and the ignition system, cause IF you aint burning everything you get into the combustion chamber it's wasted out the back, I use a Mallory Hyfire 4 on the milder motor and Hyfire 5 with revlimiter on the warmer one. Just my humble slightly conservative opinion, these stock AMC's out breathe and out pull any of the rest of the makes and you dont have to go as far to make power..(by power I mean an honest 400 hp at the flywheel) not fantasy numbers.

tarior

Definitely do the oiling mods. Small hole cam bearings, defeat the oil filter bypass, valley oil line, mid-plate; good to go! I have heard good things about the Offy dual plane intakes, lot's of guys happily use the Performer. Headers highly recommended, Comp 262XE or 268H are good cam choices, I know the 268H will work with stock valve springs, not sure about the 262XE. One more thing, go with ARP rod bolts and have the big ends re-sized.

Dallas Lemon

texascj81 wrote
I'll be building a 360 in a couple of months and was wondering what ya'll recommend for internals that are a wee bit more than stock. Questions like which cam and lifter kit, roller rockers, oiling mods, etc, etc. Thanks in advance for the help.

I might suggest looking into a set of performance heads. I put a set of Edelbrock heads on my 401, and am extremely pleased with the results. On cam choice, I ran a 260H when I had the 360 in my CJ7, and it was a good bottom end engine. I believe a 268 would also be an excellent choice with out giving up any noticeable bottom end. But the heads do make a difference. Even porting and polishing the stock heads improve performance. One thing I like about the Edelbrock heads is the stock piston still yields a 9.5 to 1 CR with a stock bore.

Henry Lavrenz

cj81, the oiling system must be up to par, stock is fine unless your raceing past 6K rpm. At that point I recommend a big pan like a milodon and a single line pick up. Stock heads are very good and a little bowl clean-up will also help, if you want stud mount rockers they must be machined and this gets a little costly.... thats the time to look at the Edy's. Cams are a matter of application and there are plenty of opinions, stay on the small side and you will be happy like the Edy performer or CC 260. I have used the Edy Performer intake on a 360 and a 401 and it is not a race manifold, but a very good street / stock replacement for all around use and it gets a little better if the intake ports are matched to the heads. Carb again depends on application, anything over a 650 cfm is over kill unless you are truly racing. I like the BG Demons and the Carter / Edy AVS type. I feel the most important issue and best spent money is to get the piston quench @ .045" and CR correct DO NOT use stock type pistons, a flat top with a dish machined to match the combustion chamber is the way to go - you can call Flat Lander or Mad Dog raceing. When done correctly you can run a 9.0-1 CR on pump gas and have a very responsive engine with a great torque curve. Good Luck, Hankrod

MrFurious

Dallas Lemon wrote
texascj81 wrote
I'll be building a 360 in a couple of months and was wondering what ya'll recommend for internals that are a wee bit more than stock. Questions like which cam and lifter kit, roller rockers, oiling mods, etc, etc. Thanks in advance for the help.

I might suggest looking into a set of performance heads. I put a set of Edelbrock heads on my 401, and am extremely pleased with the results. On cam choice, I ran a 260H when I had the 360 in my CJ7, and it was a good bottom end engine. I believe a 268 would also be an excellent choice with out giving up any noticeable bottom end. But the heads do make a difference. Even porting and polishing the stock heads improve performance. One thing I like about the Edelbrock heads is the stock piston still yields a 9.5 to 1 CR with a stock bore.

I think you're dreaming on the 9.5:1 CR unless they aren't stock pistons or someone shaved the decks or heads down. The stock 360 pistons yeild a 8.25:1 CR with stock 58cc heads. The combustion chambers on the Eddy heads are only 4cc smaller, and only bump the CR up to 8.6:1 at best.

Dallas Lemon

Here ya go. It was no dream!! Ok, so it was the 401 that resulted in a 9.5 to 1 CR.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/heads/amc_performer-rpm.shtml

Holeshot

My turn to chime in!!

The dogleg port heads flow EXTREMELY well. Fresh ones with good valve job & springs will rev at least to 7000 and will support 400₅₀₀ HP. Camshafts usually have between 3000₄₀₀₀ power bands. If you want to redline the cam at 6500, get a cam with a 2500 to 6500 RPM powerband. The manufacturers rate their cams by the power spread so everybody does not need to be a scientist to decypher the specs. Anyway, stock pistons are capable of bursting TO 6500 WHEN NEW IN A FRESH CYLINDER. I would suggest a bore job & forged pistons for everyone. Be sure to get close to .045" piston to head clearance for optimal combustion efficiency. 10₁ to 10.5₁ is fine for pump gas with 11₁ being OK, but with the risk of having to use octane booster or adding a portion of race gas to premium.

Build your engine to COMPLIMENT the heads, not bog it down with a small runner intake, RV cam, or tiny carb.

A strong 360 can easily reach between 400-450 HP & the freshened crank & rods are safe for bursts to 6500.

So, to build a 360 without choking it down & going against what the heads want to do, I'd use a Torker (2nd choice = "AirGap") & at LEAST a 750CFM Holley, vacuum secondary for an automatic, mechanical for a stick. 850 to 900 CFM if you are on the radical side with cam, etc. Less than 750CFM & the 360 will lose power dramatically. Don't forget the electric fuel pump & regulator.

If you are using headers, the 1-7/8" big-tube ones can make more HP at the higher revs, 1-5/8" being the "normal" size. If using the stock manifolds, they can be opened up so a 2-1/4" pipe will bolt up, then run the pipes to an "X" pipe & duals thru QUIET mufflers to the rear bumper (everybody would thank you for that, given the alternative).

An MSD type ignition box has been shown to even fire plugs that are fouled with oil, so it is a very nice addition to any carbureted engine. Plug gap should be opened up to .045" and I'd use Platinum plugs.

I didn't go thru all the small part details, but I would hope that you don't skimp on anything, the AMC V8 is a very good engine to hotrod, just follow thru on all the details.

The preceeding is MY opinion - please don't flame me, I just want the AMC/Jeep to reach their full potential.