401 crank in a 360?

[Fingers]

I searched and can't really find a clear answer.

I'm planning on rebuiding my 360 this summer and I was wondering if I can use a 401 crank to stroke my engin. I know the Journals are different and the bore and stroke are different. and if I can't use a 401 crank to stroke it what can I do?

thanks

[bigblack'74]

i woud just bore your 360 and get high comp. heads wih bolt on performance parts..keep a 401 a 401 and keep a 360 a 360..everyone always talks about how much power 401 has and frankly it has only a noticable diff. over a 360.. most people have not had the opportunity to run both a 360 and 401 built nearly the same..i have...it you wanna build a race motor then do it with one or the other, but i would say that combining the two will be not cost effective..if you want a potant motor get a 1970 amc 390 then that is power just my 2 cents

[greasyjeep]

http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=016558

Asked the same ? a couple ofdays ago, here's some more info.

[Fingers]

I read through that and there is no clear answer on how to stroke a 360. What do i need to stroke my engin and how much can I expect to spend doing it?

[greasyjeep]

I think the concensus is that it is a pain in the neck and a lot of money and time.
The AMC Performance guys may be of more help, but I am convinced to keep what I have and continue looking for a deal on a 401.

If you want a 390, just keep looking for one. They came in AMCs and should be a direct bolt in.

Josh

[Fingers]

so I take it that it is hard to stroke a 360 so i shouldn't waist my time tring to figure out a way to do it.
so on that note what is the best way to milk as much torque out of a 360 as possible?

thanks
matt

[jeepguzzi]

Don't the AMC 360's have gobs of torque anyway??

[Lindel]

the 360 makes lots of torque, but the recipe is any thing that will let it breathe better will move you in the right direction.

There's really not that much difference in the torque numbers from the 360 to the 401. And stroking the 360 isn't cost effective. It takes custom pistons, because the crank and rod journals are different between the 360, and 390/401. You'll also have to come up with different rods, too, or you'll have a problem that the rods are too short, or too long, not good either way.

Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?

[Fingers]

I don't want to go fast, and if I did i would buy a car, I just want more POWER. I want something that I will be able to take on the toughest trails and never have to worry about lack of power. I'm also 18 and there is never enough, nothing is ever good enough so I guess that is the reasoning behind it. also eventually I'm planning on doing an SOA and a rear shackel filp with 38"-44" tires. the over all plan is to make one hell of a rig.

[jeepguzzi]

For what you want, put alot of thought into your gearing. That will be the best way to make use of the "power".

[Sycho15]

Actually a good EFI kit could be your best bet

[Dave]

I was thinking about stroking a 360 myself, so I did a little research on it. To start with your need the crank, rods, damper, and a flywheel/flexplate from a 401, a 360 block bored .045" over and a good balancing shop.
Amc 360 & 401's have a deck height of 9.218"
401 stroke is 3.68", 401 rods are 5.858" long and have a piston pin diameter of 1.001". Piston compression height for a 401 is 1.508". And the piston is below the deck approx. .012". 360 stock bore is 4.080" plus .045" equals 4.125". You can use Keith Black pistons (KB126000-8) for a 400 chevy small block. Standard bore is 4.125", compression height is 1.433" and piston pin diameter is .9272"

Deck height 9.218"
rod length -5.858"
=3.360"
comp height -1.433"
=1.927"
1/2 stroke -1.840"
=0.087"

You would have to mill the deck of the block about .070" (will vary for different blocks)which would put the top of the piston .017" below the deck for good quench. The rods will have to be bronze bushed on the small end and drilled for oiling of the small block chevy piston pins because they are full-floating. And the rotating assembly would have to be balanced. The Keith Black pistons have a 30cc recess and with 58cc cylinder heads and a fel-pro head gasket your compression ratio would be about 9.6-1. This combo would also work out to be 393 cubic inches.
Seems like a whole lot of work for 8 cubic inches when compared to a 401.

[ February 06, 2003, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: Dave ]