amc 304

dave44

Is the amc 304 worth a crap ?

fifesjeep

Depends on what you have planned for it... :mrgreen: Daily driver... Ok (Gas mileage isn't the greatest) :oops: Off-roader... Ok (Good enough power and torque to get you around the trails) With minor mods you can have a healthy 5.0... TOP END screamer... Not Ok... :wink: (Some will argue) Torque Monster... Not Ok... 111!!! (Some will argue) Looking for Good HP and Torque #'s... Not Ok... (Unless you drop the coin for it, just like anything else)... #-o Personally, if the motor is mechanically sound run it until it can't go no-more. (all while slowly building a NICE 360 in the garage)... The 360 is a direct swap and cheap, Providing that the 360 is a good solid motor... Plus 360's are every-where.

jeepsr4ever

You can do alot with a 304! The Edelbrock performer intake and carb were designed for the 304 and dyno tested. If you end up with a a 304 or are thining about building it look into those two items they will definately give you a low to mid range boost!

ironman_gq

I got a edelbrock 600 on mine and a performer on the way as well as and Engle cam hopefully in the near future. Im looking for a large change from what I got going now.

fifesjeep

jeepsr4ever wrote
You can do alot with a 304! The Edelbrock performer intake and carb were designed for the 304 and dyno tested. If you end up with a a 304 or are thining about building it look into those two items they will definately give you a low to mid range boost!

You can do a lot with any motor... :mrgreen: Depends on how much $$$$ you want to drop in it... Personally the money spent to make a 304 perform well isn't worth it (IMO)... No replacement for displacement... :!:
But it's like what I said, it all depends on what he is going to use it for...
I did the cam, carb, intake, timing, hedders etc with my 1st 304... While it did make a big difference in performance, I definitely didn't see the BANG for the BUCK... Now, on this 360... I'm definitely pleased with the BANG for the BUCK... Don't like buying 100+ octane... My buddy lives in NC and works in Hampton Va... When needed he hooks me up...
Anyway, the 304 is a decent motor once all of that smog crap is removed and aftermarket parts are in and on it... :razz:
How many 304's are there with mid 300's Hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheels... (Without spending the $$$$$).
Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to argue... it's just my view point... He never did mention what he intended to use this engine for...

dave44

I am just a mild 4 wheeler .i have 35s on it and i do mild to moderate wheelin.not much rock crawling here.me and my wife like to hit the trails just to get away and spend some time together with each other and friends.im sure it is way better than the 258 that was in it.the 304 is rebuilt to stock spec's except for the edelbrock performer intake and a edelbrock 600 carb.and some headers.its sitting on my engine stand right now and since its not in the jeep yet i was wondering if i should have gone with the 360? just want to be satisfied with all the work i have put into this jeep.its taken me awhile to get to this point i just want to make sure this is the right route.kinda late since its ready to go.but i can always sell it and start over.

76-cj7

I would go with a smaller carb for sure but i think you'd be happy with it. The 304 i have is mildly put together and im running 35's with 4.56's but when i had 3.73's it wouldnt hesitate to light em up still.........im very impressed with this motor, the lil sucker can take some serious abuse now

fifesjeep

The 304 and 258 are both Decent engines and are almost equal with stock HP/Torque. :oops: Out of the two, I'd pick the 258 (I know I just went back on what I said, No replacement for displacement). The 258 is a super reliable motor to say the least. Seeing that you do mild trails and daily driving with this Jeep... either or would've been a good choice. Now if you had the choice between a 304 and 360... Definitely a 360! IMO the 360 has it beat in every aspect (Even fuel consumption :? )

ironman_gq

the 258 has the amazing ability to be nearly unstallable, especially if you add an inertia ring to the flywheel my buddy has one that only got a mild rebuild and with 38.5 tires and 3.54 gears he can still light em up without having to dump the clutch. :lo1l: 8) Because the internals are so heavy they generate an amazing amount of torque way down low. :lo1l:

Patf10

i had a nice 258 before the 360 and it would lug way down low, was really kinda nice. Speaking about the heavy internals some one told me once the 258 at one point or another was going to be a diesel, then that was scrapped and made into a gas engine. I kinda took it as a load of bull, but thought maybe thats why there was a lot of beef in the lower end?