4.0,304, 350 Swap ideas/ Brainstorm

[84G-Wag]

What do you guys think about the idea of a stroker 4.0 and a 4l60e. WOuld building a stroker be worth the money of having to spend on the adapter for a 4l60 ? I have a 258 in it so I can salvage the crank and some costs there. Theres also a 304 for sale for 200 bucks complete and running , and a 350/4l60e out of a suburban for 1500. You guys are the experts, Im still learning how these Waggys operate. I love the 258 for wheeling but a 30 mile haul to work on the highway isnt doing me too good.

[Cliff]

Since you already have a 258 I would go with the 4.0 head, plus you could do some other cool mods. Lots of goodies for the sixes. My son is building a 258/4.0 for his AMC Spirit - raising the CR, Clifford manifold, Holley 390, split headers, Lunati RV cam. He's using a 5-speed so I don't have much to contribute regarding the tranny, but the 200 and 700 GM 4-speed auto tranny's are possible too.

[wiley-moeracing]

Doing a 4.0 stroker is not cheap, just did one for a customer and he had $6,000 in it and still needs more computer work to make it run right. For costs and ease put a amc 360 in. for the trans side instead of running the chevy trans you can run the aw4.

[tgreese]

As an intermediate step, you could put the 4.0L HO in and get it running. Excellent Mopar/Bosch MPI. Supposedly the AW4 that typically came with the 4.0L HO is an excellent transmission.

If I really wanted the GM transmission, I would think the complete engine/trans/tc from a late model Chevy truck would make more sense. Another package with excellent MPI. Many have done the Vortec swap - you'd get lots of help.

[SC/397]

The running 304 you found would be the cheapest way out.
I have a pile of rebuildable 360's that you could have for $250.00 each.
I have a couple of 401's that I would consider selling but at the going rate..
If you have to rebuild one, rebuilding a 360 would probably be the most inexpensive way but building a 383 stroker out of a 360 would be more fun.

[J20 project]

swap

I once coached a mechanical engineer through his 258 to 360 swap....He listened for a while and then got smarter than me.

He put a camshaft into his 360 which would have been compatible with drag racing.....and seemed to hate me over it....f/ing people don't listen. I suggested he put a Melling Mt1A cam in which makes power/torque much lower but hey....whateve.


J20

[Cliff]

You're right Bud - the 4.0 deal my son is working on isn't cheap. But so far it isn't much more that what he would spend on a V-8 and it will be unique. His big money went into the 5-speed, replacing the original 904.

I prefer the V-8 myself, and would have no problem with even a 304 in an FSJ.

[84G-Wag]

The running 304 you found would be the cheapest way out.
I have a pile of rebuildable 360's that you could have for $250.00 each.
I have a couple of 401's that I would consider selling but at the going rate..
If you have to rebuild one, rebuilding a 360 would probably be the most inexpensive way but building a 383 stroker out of a 360 would be more fun.

What state are you located in, also guys any tips on the 304 ? Like i said im a chevy guy

[J20 project]

FWIW, I had a 304 in 73 J3000 w/ auto. 33 in tires 3:73 gears. It was adequate but just barely in my opinion. A 304 is a great engine for something smaller but not for a truck which none of us leave alone...I have found that the 360,401, and 350 chev engines all worked a lot better. I actually think I would have preferred a 258 as long as it was against a decent 1st gear manual trans like the T18. My cousin had one and it worked well.

J20

[spduffee]

I just finished swapping a 304 for my 360. The idea is to rebuild the 360 and put it back...maybe. I paid $500 for the 304 and gambled on its true condition (it came from a storage-wars type thing). It all looked newly rebuilt, smelled like it too and sure enough it was ok. I am happy with the 304...

[SJTD]

I put a 4.0 head on my CJ. I am disappointed with it. Maybe it's the stock exhaust system?