Budget AMC 360 stroker build - 383 Cubes!

[Greg Taylor]

Sick minds think alike!

I have a 15 to 1 258 in my garage. Well, I have most of the parts anyway. I just wish someone would cut me a cam. Ordered 2 already, nobody ever follows through.

For custom cams, check with www.iskycams.com or www.camshafts.com

I would send you to Clay Smith Cams website, but upon visiting it, a virus was blocked.

If you're running 15:1, you should look into adding the head grooves like I did on my 304 stroker.

[jeepsr4ever]

You guys should have gave a hollar I can get your stroker pistons for less than $600 a set. The real trick to this build is finding that 6" long rod with a wide end on the big end. looks like you found it, good job! Theother trick is getting that butter crank to survive after you have turned away the hardened layer

[Ristow]

the radius of the journals is the primary strength factor. these cranks are not hardened (nitrided) which is done for durability,and would make the crank weaker due to being brittle if it were actually a factor in strength.

[Elliott]

Sick minds think alike!

I have a 15 to 1 258 in my garage. Well, I have most of the parts anyway. I just wish someone would cut me a cam. Ordered 2 already, nobody ever follows through.

Have you tried Reed cams?

[Greg Taylor]

You guys should have gave a hollar I can get your stroker pistons for less than $600 a set.

Matt,
I think Rick got the SBC pistons for under $200 a set, with the addition of $130 more for adding the AMC valve reliefs. Total cost at $330 for the SBC pistons.

[Greg Taylor]

Response from Rick below in PURPLE.

You guys should have gave a hollar I can get your stroker pistons for less than $600 a set.

Still $300.00 more than I have into Chevy pistons including fly cutting the valve reliefs. The pistons were $159.00 and cutting the valve reliefs was $130.00. This is not a race engine ... I don't need forged pistons. But... I WILL for another project that I have in mind!

The real trick to this build is finding that 6" long rod with a wide end on the big end. looks like you found it, good job!

What's nice is you could have the width machined down to match the 360 rod if you wanted to. I would have done that but the larger radii in the journal made more sense and less dollars to me.

The other trick is getting that butter crank to survive after you have turned away the hardened layer

Like someone posted, they are not surface hardened or nitrited. I will quote my machinest by saying "Doing that to a cast crank is like dressing up an ugly girl for prom night". The crank will survive in my opinion as long as I keep it under 6000 rpm.

[Greg Taylor]

what were his balance weight (in grams)?

More from Rick on this ...



I'm not sure. It looks to me that he just moved the weight a little. He welded both big holes shut front and rear. He drilled two lightening holes either side of where the big one was at the rear and drilled a single hole at the front. He also drilled a small hole at the 3rd crank throw.

[Greg Taylor]

Pics of the pistons back from getting the AMC valve reliefs CNC machined in.

[Greg Taylor]

Pics of the pistons on the rods & the short block nearing assembly completion.

[rocklaurence]

wow, Im glad to see that you had a set of pistons machined for the build. I was afraid that the reliefs were made with a cut-off wheel as in the first pictures. Also, opening up the cylinders adds 6-10 CI. So, how much are you gaining by stroking the crank and at what cost?

[Greg Taylor]

wow, Im glad to see that you had a set of pistons machined for the build. I was afraid that the reliefs were made with a cut-off wheel as in the first pictures. Also, opening up the cylinders adds 6-10 CI. So, how much are you gaining by stroking the crank and at what cost?

The cutoff wheel was just for mock up.

The difference between the 3.44 (stock) stroke and the 3.53" stroker is +10 cubes ... at the stock stroke, the engine would be a 373. The cost of stroking the crank, was only $125 more than a basic regrind, as mentioned in post #3.

[RyanD1981]

Greg, I started following your 304 stroker build and now this one. Cool build. Beyond stroking the 360, what are your other goals with this engine in terms of hp, torque, etc?

Couple of thoughts came to mind with interchanging GM and AMC parts.

How much stroke could the AMC blocks accept? The Buick big blocks had the same bore spacing as the AMC's with a 3.90" stroke.
Could you have used SBC pistons with the 304 stroker? I think the there are some some GM pistons that are 3.78 stock, which are .030 over the AMC.

[rustywagoneers_com]

Stock crankcase can take a 401 crank, offest ground to 1.9 inch rod journals - IE: the 4 inch crank available from Bulltear.

Use that and a stock bore 400 SBC piston and you have a 427 rambler 360.

Or, go with their new 4.150 stroke crank, notch the bottom of the bores a little bit - the same 400 SBC piston diameter, and you have a 444.

[Greg Taylor]

Greg, I started following your 304 stroker build and now this one. Cool build. Beyond stroking the 360, what are your other goals with this engine in terms of hp, torque, etc?

Couple of thoughts came to mind with interchanging GM and AMC parts.

How much stroke could the AMC blocks accept? The Buick big blocks had the same bore spacing as the AMC's with a 3.90" stroke.
Could you have used SBC pistons with the 304 stroker? I think the there are some some GM pistons that are 3.78 stock, which are .030 over the AMC.

Hey Ryan,
Thanks for following both the 304 & 360 stroker threads. The 360 stroker using the 360 crank, like Rick is building is safe at 383-cubes. It can be stroked further as RustyWagoneers points out, using a 401 crank or the Bulltear cranks, but then it's not as budget a build as the 383 stroker.

With the 383 stroker, Rick is looking to get near the HP & Torque figures of the 1970 390 V8, which I think is 325-HP and 420-ft/lb torque.

You can take the 401 block out pretty far. One of our local Detroit club members has a 460-stroker in his Gremlin Drag car ... he's running in the 7's in the 1/4 mile with it. For a street or Jeep engine, going that far isn't feasible.

When I was working on the engineering for the 304 stroker, I had contemplated using either SBC 305 pistons (3.73 stock bore) or Pinto 2.3L pistons (3.83" bore), but it started getting pricey to get my 390 rods off-set bushed for the different compression distance for those 2 pistons. I may have been able to pull the budget stroker with the 304 crank, like Rick is doing with the 360 crank (same stroke for both ... 3.44 stock) and the Chevy 6-cyl rods ... but I never persued that avenue ... already had the 390 crank.

[mjself]

Anybody look into the Bulltear Crank? Would that be better than turning down the cast crank that much? Just an Idea. i know 1500 is quite a pretty penny but you all got me thinking. Darn it Greg, now you got me thinking again! Great idea. How do you think she will do temperature wise?