What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
#1091941
10/10/11 09:24 AM
10/10/11 09:24 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415
Toronto
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Hey everybody! I had a pretty good year with my new setup (360, 4 speed, 4.10 dana rear) and put about 45 track passes and probably another 50 on the street testing However, it seems as usual my luck can never hold up and a couple weeks ago on the street i either spun or ate up a bearing big time...Hard 1-2 shift, car wanted to die, very SERIOUS knock coming from the bottom end ( I have tested everything else with a qualified mechanic, and we both came to the same conclusion) My current engine is literally a junkyard bottom end 360 LA motor with a good top end (IMM RHS heads, IMM custom ground hydr. roller cam, intake, carb, etc.) and it runs great! (times in sig, big thanks to Brian at IMM!!) however, now that I have to pull it apart again, im questioning myself on what I want to do here, and here are my options a.) rebuild what I already have...so that would mean turning the crank (mains or rods not sure which), resizing the rods (if its a rod bearing), new bearings, possibly a line hone on the mains (not sure if that is nescessary when turning a crank?)...At the end of the day though I will still have a cast piston low comp 360, and im not sure i want to spend all that money on machine work to end up where i was before b.) Go 4" or bigger smallblock. I already have the heads that can support it with room for some growth, but i'll have to peice together a totally new rotator, plus balancing and machine work costs. But I can atleast already use some parts I already have too...was thinking a BPE crank if i go this route since I have spoken with Rod and he is a very knowledgeable guy with a great product for the price c.) Sell all my small block stuff (which is all in great shape) and go to either Gen 3 Hemi stuff (which I have really taken an interest in lately) or B/RB (although that will require different headers, engine mounts, bellhousing, z bar, etc.)...both are a total changeover, but my reasoning with these is that i could sell all my smallblock stuff as well as possibly some of the big block stuff that I get but wont use My plans this winter before this happened was to stick a cheater kit that I already have on my 360, but if i go the stroker or new engine route, I would sell all that stuff off to fund this. I wasnt planning on spending big money over this off season, but almost feel like if im going to be in there, maybe I should build it up a little more and satisfy my need for speed...problem is deciding which will be most cost effective for me right now Not gonna lie, those new hemis have got me tempted...lol What do you guys think? Pretend your standing in this half broke 22 year olds shoes and tell me what you think the most practical thing to do is and why...im open to all opinions At the end of the day its all mopower to me! Thanks!
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: mshred]
#1091942
10/10/11 09:51 AM
10/10/11 09:51 AM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,082 St. Paul , Mn.
tubtar
master
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master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,082
St. Paul , Mn.
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Your wallet is always the final arbitrator. Cheapest = get another short block from the bone yard. Least expensive " correct " way is to salvage what you can from the current motor and have some quality machine work done to it. Next up the money tree would be this approach with a stroker kit. And it wouldn't be that much more. After that , it starts getting pricy But if it were me..........and I were you ........I'd be leaning towards stroking it and using what you can from the current combo. Now that I don't have the impatience levels of when I was 22 , I can take a couple years to finish my deal. And it is a forced patience due to costs associated with wanting to be the only kid on the block with one of these. I will be making laps next summer.........I really hoped to have it together this year , but it won't happen. And I never would have been able to wait this long at 22. But if time and money are deal breakers , then a 408 is a pretty nice package.
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: mshred]
#1091947
10/10/11 10:50 AM
10/10/11 10:50 AM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972 Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
Master
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Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
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First I would look to see what went wrong on your set up and look at the repair cost... then if it was to the point that it would benefit I would go with the stroker... then while your driving/racing I would start picking up parts for the next build (which ever direction you want to go).. its alot easier to pick up parts when your not laying out money and time to get your currant ride back together
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: MR_P_BODY]
#1091948
10/10/11 11:03 AM
10/10/11 11:03 AM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,286 Hamilton,Ont
72chrgrally
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,286
Hamilton,Ont
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Matt I would suggest a 408 with your current top end and use your current block (providing no damage and inspection for power upgrades). Keep a reasonable compression ratio so you can still run pump gas and drive it. Find a good local machine shop, I don't know of any out your way tho. Take a look at what other guys on here have done and put together a stout, street friendly combo. Good luck man! Steve
Photobucket sucks
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: 72chrgrally]
#1091949
10/10/11 11:24 AM
10/10/11 11:24 AM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 12,481 Chino Valley
RodStRace
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 12,481
Chino Valley
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1. Go buy another JY 360 short block and put the car back together ASAP. 2. Do the post-mortum on the current short block, and determine if it will handle a stroker heart. 3. Gather parts to do a real solid short block over time and build it right. 4. Swap it out and fix any other little bugs before next season starts.
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: 72chrgrally]
#1091950
10/10/11 11:50 AM
10/10/11 11:50 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,178 Indy
FlyFish
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,178
Indy
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Stroke it...You have a good top end for a nice pump gas small block stroker. That's the route I would take.
67 Barracuda street car, 408, e85, 1.38 60', 6.44 @105.9 in the 1/8 mile, 10.19 @130.5 in the 1/4...so far....
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: mshred]
#1091951
10/10/11 11:54 AM
10/10/11 11:54 AM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,339 somwhere
smokinwoody
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,339
somwhere
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: Cab_Burge]
#1091956
10/10/11 03:14 PM
10/10/11 03:14 PM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,339 somwhere
smokinwoody
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,339
somwhere
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Quote:
Quote:
this is just an example of whats out there...
http://www.racingjunk.com/Engines-Components/2334504/Mopar-R5-P7-358-Arrington-Engine.html
No rods, pistons and needs deck repaired I think you can do better
ooops....
there are some nice short blocks out there that are reasonably priced...of course, since you didnt do the work, there is always that question on how it was assembled and machined..
perhaps its better to repair or start on a new engine...
when we snapped a rod in our RB block, it damaged a cylinder..I bought 2 other blocks and brought them to the engine builder/machinist..we ended up keeping the damaged block and sleeved it...
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: 383man]
#1091958
10/10/11 04:04 PM
10/10/11 04:04 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,177 ill
dennismopar73
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,177
ill
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Re: What direction to go in now?...drop your opinion inside
[Re: RobX4406]
#1091960
10/10/11 07:06 PM
10/10/11 07:06 PM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415 Toronto
mshred
OP
master
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OP
master
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,415
Toronto
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Hey everybody, I appreciate the opinions! It seems like a small block stroker is the favored peice among most here, and yes, it definitely makes sense to go that route considering i already have a top end foundation for it (Thats exactly what i was thinking when i bought the heads and valvetrain, that I could use it on a stroker motor if this thing ever broke...just didnt expect it so soon) Reason I considered the big block is because my dad has one in a 69 dart, and even though they are huge in there, they make insane amounts of power with very little done to them in a lightweight car like an a-body...My biggest thing would be getting a new bell, z bar, headers, and mounts to go with it...The new hemi, well they are just plain cool and dont need much done to them to haul the mail, but once again headers, mounts, and other things like that expensive drag pak intake are kinda what are making me re think what the cheapest option would be...I know with the SB stroker i'll have a good 2k into the rotating assembly when its all balanced and ready to go in, plus another 800-1000 for machine work, and then id like to do a another custom cam from IMM to get it working the valves like a champ...so I figure 3.5k when its all said and done- not sure i could do a bigblock swap or hemi swap for that little The season here is over...we are going to be getting snow in a month or two, and i need new tires anyways (my chords are showing through on the et streets ) so i wasn't planning on trying to get it fixed for this season. My plan is next weekend to yank the motor out of er and start in one direction or another...I have all winter to collect parts and being assembly on whichever motor i choose, i just have to decide As much as I am bummed about having to redo a good working combo, im also excited that im going to be upping the power It will more than likely end up an SB stroker, but i dont want to rule anything out yet
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