Re: 360 SWAP (was Re: RE: Detonation)

From: JT McBride (James.McBride@GDEsystems.COM)
Date: Mon Dec 15 1997 - 22:11:40 EST


>> Dan - What are you planning to use for an engine management computer for
>> the 360? A Ram SBEC? An aftermarket computer? By who? When? Where? How

>These are the questions I'm trying to answer myself. I know that I must
>swap in a 94 Ram computer. I will have to get it recalibrated by someone.
>I want to be able to eliminate the fuel shut off component of the computer.
>I have no idea how much it would cost or if it can even be done. I was

Good luck. Chrysler evidently doesn't make it easy. For one thing, they're
several generations behind in microprocessor technology, so they really
make the chips bleed to get the job done [that's quite a tribute to the
engineers involved, BTW]. You'd probably have a bit easier time starting
with the Ram SBEC.

I have a friend whose project car is a V8 240Z. Although he was pretty
happy with it, he pulled the GM 350 crate engine (carburetted) out, and
he's planning to drop in a 'built' LT1 and a T56 six-speed. The LT1 is
fuel injected, and the guy already has a distributorless ignition that's
supposed to be good to 9000 rpm.

Anyway, the beauty of the Chevy is that there are a half-dozen shops in
the L.A. area that burn chips for the engine computer. Set up the engine
on the dyno, start with a guess, and tweak until it's just right, burn
the PROMs, drop them in your computer, and you can meet smog, idle as
well as your cams will let you, and blow the fender flares off Porsches
anytime you care to.

You might even ask whether it'd be feasible to use a GM computer. The
Magnum engine has all the right inputs (except knock), but I kinda
doubt the sensors used on the Dodge would be directly compatible with
the GM ECC. There's the question of whether the notches, holes, or pins
used on the flywheel to give crank position would result in the same
signals. A Chevy hot rod shop won't be able to modify those parts of
the computer, so you'd have to make the Dodge "look" like a GM to the
computer. That might get expensive in it's own right.

Maybe there's a reason Chrysler is redesigning the Magnum engines for
the 1999 or 2000 model year ???

Jim
Dakota - The Right Caliber of Dodge Magnum Force



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