which engine to install 350, 360, 400, or 454

[Cowboy]

am going to rebuild an engine to put in my 79 chief 360 4 speed. I want to keep the drive train stock from the manual trans back. I have three engine choices but not sure which one to go with.

Amc 360
Big block chrysler 400
Chevy 350
Chevy 454

I know the rebuild kit for the 350 will be the cheapest but i don't have that engine on hand like the other two. The 360 would be the easiest to install but the most expensive to rebuild. The 400 doesn't need a rebuild but the hardest to install. I don't have the 454 but i can get one. It would need only a valve job.
Does anyone make an adapter for a mopar 400?
Anyone installed a Big block mopar before?
Anyone have any suggestions or preferences on these motors?
I plan on taking the body off and building my own tubular body so engine compartment size would not be a problem.
thanks for any info

[ColeTrickle]

I'd stay with the 360. Thats only because I recently had the TH400 rebuilt.
Of course, I could always pull the guts out of the AMC TH400 and go with a Chevy TH400 case with the works.
Nah...I got bigger fish to fry.

If I was to go with any other engine than a AMC 360, it would be a Big Block Ford 460.
Big money permitting, it would be a Cummins diesel outta a later model Dodge.

There's my .02 for what its worth...

[Stuka]

The easiest engine to install besides the AMC 360 is a ford. Because of the 4sp tranny it makes it easy to swap to a ford. Swapping to a GM will require an adapter or a different transmission I bellive. Unless you can find a bell that will work.

A 6BT wont fit out of a dodge, a 4BT will. But yeah, I would go 460 over the 454 because its easy to bolt to the tranny, front distributer, and will givve you more power then you will ever need.

[Elliott]

Why don't you save yourself some weight and pic up a gob of torque with a cheap lil Caddy 500. Get a flywheel and BOP bell to you T18 and blow those F*rd/Chebys into the weeds.

[mdill]

I think the 360 would be the low cost way to go. Rebuild would be more but not
enough more to offset half of what you would end up paying with a swap.
(Start adding in the extras)
New mounts $
New exhust $
New radiator $
New wiring $
Adapters $$$
Then the extra time spent.
Swaps only make sence if there is a real over ridding reason. One example would be if
you were dead set on EFI and a overdrive trany, It can be done with the AMC but it would
be cheaper in that case to do a full drivetrain swap, and that would not be on the cheap.
Pure cost savings of swaping in another make carberator engine makes no sence.

Mike D.

[The Anti-Chrysler]

If you want to keep your trans, I would recommend you keep the 360. Both big blocks would be difficult, and unless it's an EFI 350, it's not worth the trouble.

[Oracle]

Before I did all of this I would get a good mechanic to run the standard tests to determine just what all is wrong with your 360. You may not need to do a whole rebuild, maybe its just top end, or conversely maybe its just the crank bearings...I got ready to do one of mine and took the time to run the vacuum, leak down, compression, oil pump, and timing chain tests and found that the motor was in a hell of a lot better shape than i thought. ended up replacing a valve guide, pulling the cover and putting in new timing chain/gear, waterpump, oil pump, had the radiator rodded, on the advice of an old old OLD arkansas muscle car mechanic, pulled the plugs, poured some techroline into the cylinders, turned it over without spark and let it sit overnight. Next day he took a strange looking wrench and twisted the valve stems around a few times, seriously LOL) then sprayed in some 2cycle 50 to 1 gas mix (does that sound crazy ? did to me)turned it over a few times to make sure the rings were lubed, plugged in the sparkplugs, crossed my fingers and fired it up. Man, there was a cloud of smoke and 'clinkers' rattling out through the valves. He rev'd it up and all sorts of crap came flying out the exhaust (no cat). 5 minutes later we went for a ride smile.gif big time smileys smile.gif

anyway, the point is investigate a bit beforehand to make sure what you THINK needs to be done DOES need to be done. you might be pleasantly surprised.

Course if you just love swaps and the high "cool" factor of opening up the hood to something unexpected then disregard the foregoing and have at it smile.gif