Re: Power potential of 360? - long

From: Jon Steiger (stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 28 1999 - 17:49:07 EDT


On Tue, 28 Sep 1999, Bob Tom wrote:
> At 09:35 PM 9/26/99 -0400, you wrote:
> > <snip>
> >I'm just trying to figure out my options and plan for the future.
> >My goals are a very, very fast Dak which is also streetable. A big
> >goal is also to keep it as cheap as possible! Obviously, the 360ci
> >Magnum engine is the easiest choice as it'll bolt right in and many
> >parts from my current 318 will interchange.
>
> I think that the 360s (pre-mags & mags) have different motor mounts
> on the driver's side. Minor but an expense to factor in.

   Really? That's the first I've heard of this. (not saying you're
wrong; I'm just looking to eliminate as many surprises as possible
beforehand.) (Or did you mean that the pre-mag 360 has a different
mount than the mag 360?)

> <snip>
> >I think I'll need anywhere from 650-800hp to be where I want.
> >(very low 11's, maybe even dipping into 10s).
>
> OK ... 10s or lls for the 1/4. For the street?

  Absolutely; its no fun unless you can drive on the street too.
:-) (Or did you mean what kind of times do I want in street
trim?) If its the latter, I'm not sure. I figure if I can
get to 11's on the juice, then even off the juice and in
street trim, its still gonna be "pretty darn fast". :-)

  One of my goals is to try to keep the track/street differences
as small as possible. As much as is possible, I want to be able
to drive off the street, stage, and run in the 11's. I suspect
the major limitation to this will be the tires. If I can get
street tires to hook and run an 11, that'd be pretty darn cool.
(But I don't see that happening... Oh well one way to find out
I guess; its easy enough to buy tires later, so I can put that
off until I start having traction problems.)

> <snip>
> >Here are some ideas I've had <snip>
>
> >Take a 380 crate motor or Kammer & Kammer/Hughes prepped 360, drop it
> >into my Dak, install my MPI M1 manifold and F&B Stage II TB for now
> >(or the MP 4bbl TB later), add some larger injectors, use an FP
> >Performance SEFI8LO system to handle the fuel injection duties,
> >either the Holley Annihilator or Pro Strip Annihilator w/ Holley's
> >coil for spark (and useful rev limiters and switches), and add an NX
> >wet plate system.
>
> A '93 RC Dakota in Detroit has a modified 5.2L and added juice for
> a 11.70 @ 116 run (Sep'99 Mopar Muscle). It doesn't say what it can
> do without the juice but, factoring out the juice, it must be still
> quick (low/high 13's ?). It has a .030 overbore, TRW forged pistons,

   Yep, I believe Tom Moffat's 11.5 second 5.2 Dak ran 13.2s on the
motor. (You still with us, Tom?)

> Viper Rods on a stock crank, heads with 2.02"/1.65" valves, Crower
> 1.7 rockers, stock tb on the M1 single plane, managed with a '93
> 360 Ram computer with a customed Superchip E-prom, 24 lb/hr injectors,
> Paxton Kamikaze fuel pump, 1/2" fuel lines, Pro Finish hood, DT header
> with a custom exhaust, single stage Nitrous Express system, 518 OD
> fitted with a Fairbanks converter, custom shift kit, lowered 2/4,
> 4.10:1 gears in the 8 1/4 rear end.
>
> Because you already have the engine, M1, ported tb, headers and exhaust,
> plus other mods, I would guess that this alternative would be a few
> thousand less than the setup that you have in mind with a 380 crate
> or a prepped 360. I would think your current setup with a matched torque
> converter and 4.10 gears would have you in the high 13s without juice.
> All you would need is strengthen your valvetrain and drivetrain components
> for durability.

    You make some very good points. This is all stuff I'm going to
have to think about. However, I'm not completely sure that this would
be the most economical way. That is, I watched Bill's recent upgrades
on his Dak (porting the heads, installing a cam, and a whole list of
other things), and based on that and just general observation, I'm
not sure that doing it yourself is cheaper than leaving it to the
pros... I mean, lets face it, I am learning by leaps and bounds, but
my experience and knowledge as far as engine building goes is just
about nil. Being able to take delivery of a profesionally assembled
engine that uses all the tricks is very attractive. I'm sure I could
muddle my way through installing a cam and doing the heads and such,
but I know for sure that the job wouldn't be as good as the job
Kammer & Kammer could do. Also, there's always the "oops I just
broke this thing and now its gonna cost me twice as much" possibility
when you do it yourself. There's also the option of having a pro install
the parts, but I don't know of a shop in my area who I would trust for
work like this. Plus, I'm sure a professional engine shop which
does a decent volume will be able to get parts much cheaper than
I ever could. I've obviously still got a lot of research to do. :-)

  What I really need to do is sit down with Kammer & Kammer or
Hughes to figure out a combination and a price before making
any decisions. I can probably do it via e-mail with Hughes, but
I don't think Kammer & Kammer is on the 'net yet, and I hate
to use the phone. :-)

                                              -Jon-

  .--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ----------------------------------------.
  | Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
  | '96 Dodge Dakota V8, '96 Suzuki Intruder 1400, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
  `--------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'



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