304, 360, or 401
- Thread starter sling5ben
- Start date
Bounty__Hunter
Super Moderator
Welcome to the Z.
Can't speak for reliability, but I've seen many 401's make gobs of power. Being in a small CJ5 I'd go with whatever was affordable and available.
Can't speak for reliability, but I've seen many 401's make gobs of power. Being in a small CJ5 I'd go with whatever was affordable and available.
It depends on what you want. If you just want the V8 sound and moderate power, then the 304 makes a nice option because it can still be really economical if set up right. The 360 is a better choice if you want a little more power without really going crazy. They are cheap to obtain because they are so common. If you really want to go all out with an AMC V8 then the 390/401 is the hot ticket. Forged crank, forged connecting rods, more webbing in the block... It will make more power than the other two, and still be more reliable.
I tend to recommend a 360 for most people. They are plenty durable if you keep it under 6000rpm, and you can make really good power with them.
I tend to recommend a 360 for most people. They are plenty durable if you keep it under 6000rpm, and you can make really good power with them.
I've had a CJ-7 with the 258 and put a 360 in it, WOW. With a 2 barrell carb it would go! The CJ-7 I have now had a strong 304 in it. I put a '74 401 in it. Had the block bored .30 over, new piston's, bearings, 2 new valves, both heads cleaned up. Edelbrock performer carb, intake, cam and lifter's. Header's, Jacob's Ultra coil and wires. 4-core radiator, duel oil filters and an oil cooler. The motor and extra's cost about 2 grand, and it is absolutely unreal how much power and torque it has. I've always wanted to get it dyno-ed but don't where to get that done. For more power the only other motor to look at would be a 401 out of a Javelin, maybe. I have scout axles with 3.07 gearing and a t-18 transmission, at 55 mph it will get 14.5 mpg.
David
New member
Bacon brings up a good point. With a 304, you might get by with the stock drive train parts. The more power you get, the more you're looking at upgrading or replacing in order to keep the transmission from dying, U-joints from breaking, etc.
I have a 350 in a CJ-5. That makes plenty of power for my purposes. I don't know the HP--it's pretty old, but has some upgrades. I run a T-18, so I don't have worries about my transmission giving out, but I've broken one U-joint on my Dana 30 front axle. I've also stripped the splines on one D44 shaft. I'm pretty judicious in my use of power, however, and I run mud terrain tires but not ones with super aggressive lugs. I have a feeling that if I ran stickier tires, I'd do more damage and would have to upgrade more drivetrain parts.
I have a 350 in a CJ-5. That makes plenty of power for my purposes. I don't know the HP--it's pretty old, but has some upgrades. I run a T-18, so I don't have worries about my transmission giving out, but I've broken one U-joint on my Dana 30 front axle. I've also stripped the splines on one D44 shaft. I'm pretty judicious in my use of power, however, and I run mud terrain tires but not ones with super aggressive lugs. I have a feeling that if I ran stickier tires, I'd do more damage and would have to upgrade more drivetrain parts.
woodie92
New member
i bought a replacement 360 for mine( after blowing the head gasket in my old one) for 100 bucks! they r plentiful and cheap to buy, all of them r expensive to buy parts for! my 360 is a torque god however i love it.... the gas milage is crappy. once u get it on the trail u forget about that and the grinnining doesn't stop.
i plan on rebuilding my blown 360 with a wild cam and over bore, you had better do research on frame problems( needs some support, especially with big tires), i would add an aluminum radiator into the build or you will have overheating problems like i did. it stinks to be running 65 up the highway and see water blowing out the exhaust without warning!
Vanmantraveler
New member
OK let the new boy spout out a bit to think about.... The AMC motors are nice for power, but a bit Leaky in the oil department... I am looking at the chevy motor myself. CHEAP easy to get parts for and will run with the best of them. the AMC motors are just getting hard to find good parts for.
OH by the way if some one ever needs to Re-do heads on their V8 AMC motor and need longer or shorter pushrod bolts... they are the same as in a small block chevy... so order longer or shorter chevy push rods and you have what you need.
OH by the way if some one ever needs to Re-do heads on their V8 AMC motor and need longer or shorter pushrod bolts... they are the same as in a small block chevy... so order longer or shorter chevy push rods and you have what you need.
Vanmantraveler
New member
OK let the new boy spout out a bit to think about.... The AMC motors are nice for power, but a bit Leaky in the oil department... I am looking at the chevy motor myself. CHEAP easy to get parts for and will run with the best of them. the AMC motors are just getting hard to find good parts for.
OH by the way if some one ever needs to Re-do heads on their V8 AMC motor and need longer or shorter pushrod bolts... they are the same as in a small block chevy... so order longer or shorter chevy push rods and you have what you need. Sorry it posted twice.....
Terry could you delete this Extra one for me?
OH by the way if some one ever needs to Re-do heads on their V8 AMC motor and need longer or shorter pushrod bolts... they are the same as in a small block chevy... so order longer or shorter chevy push rods and you have what you need. Sorry it posted twice.....
Terry could you delete this Extra one for me?
I saw someone mention part availability.. 304, 360, and 401 are all pretty much the same motor, different size heads and different cam profiles, but if you need to source parts, all the other accessories are completely interchangable from the rotor to the timing cover. even the main bearings carry the same part number. Part availability is not an issue.
carnuck
New member
304 makes the power without sacrificing fuel economy. At least one guy with a 401 in his CJ wished he hadn't. It flipped over backwards when he got just slightly on the go pedal on an incline and crushed his kids when the roll cage flattened.
I would do a 4.0L swap instead. As for Chevs being cheap swaps. Not when you account for adapters, etc. They don't stand up to my driving ability either. I killed 17 in one season, then said nevermore! (although the 454 in my '81 C20 does nicely as a 5th wheel hauler, but it has the full Edelbrock package)
I would do a 4.0L swap instead. As for Chevs being cheap swaps. Not when you account for adapters, etc. They don't stand up to my driving ability either. I killed 17 in one season, then said nevermore! (although the 454 in my '81 C20 does nicely as a 5th wheel hauler, but it has the full Edelbrock package)
huh??? so because your friend doesn't know when to get out of the skinny pedal, and apperntly has a unsafe cage, it's a bad motor? the incline and his wheel base would be more to blame than a motor if we wanted to point the blame else where then bad driving. I hope the kids were OK, if not, that blows.
as for chevy motors, 17 in one season, while this be believable, if I were you, I would search for a new motor builder and not a different motor. The SBC is in my opinion one the best designed engines for durability and efficiency that was ever built. probably why they were used pretty much unchanged from 1956-2002.
I've done a lot of swaps, a carbed 350 is cheaper than a 4.0. I just finished a 4.0 swap and it does cost more, if you retain the GM drive train. while it is possible to spen dthe $$ for a conversion bell to put a 350 in front of a ax 15 per say, it would be pointless and a waste of money when a stronger nv4500 or sm 4XX will bolt in. But opinions will vary.
as for chevy motors, 17 in one season, while this be believable, if I were you, I would search for a new motor builder and not a different motor. The SBC is in my opinion one the best designed engines for durability and efficiency that was ever built. probably why they were used pretty much unchanged from 1956-2002.
I've done a lot of swaps, a carbed 350 is cheaper than a 4.0. I just finished a 4.0 swap and it does cost more, if you retain the GM drive train. while it is possible to spen dthe $$ for a conversion bell to put a 350 in front of a ax 15 per say, it would be pointless and a waste of money when a stronger nv4500 or sm 4XX will bolt in. But opinions will vary.
carnuck
New member
Not saying it's a bad motor. In fact it's quite excellent. It's just more motor than a SWB Jeep needs. Unfortunately, the kids were not okay (busted up pretty bad). Just pointing out that just because a Jeep has a cage doesn't mean it will withstand a hard rollover.
As for the Chev motors, 10 were just used motors, 3 were shop built and 4 were Goodwrench crate motors. To be fair I also killed a number of Ford motors and one AMC 6 and one AMC V8. Came close but didn't quite kill some Mopars (took a long time to figure out the Redline wasn't just a caution mark in my younger days)
I picked up a complete '93 Jeep with 4.0L (rollover) for $200 for my swap.
'82 CJ will be Mopar trans and not GM.
Sorry to hear about the kids, if it is one thing that truely bothers me it is when children suffer. my self, I put a complete cage with 8 points tiedi into the frame before I brought my daughter on a trail.
and about those motors.. You know they need oil right :roll:
carnuck
New member
The motors had plenty of good expensive oil in them. Wish I knew then what I know now about Fram filters though. The orange ones don't like to be suddenly hit with a large quantity of high pressure oil. They tend to internally collapse.
Not sure if that's what was on the motors back then (it's about 30 years ago) but it REALLY p!$$#$ off your sponsor when you are only a few laps in the race when the motor scatters!
Not sure if that's what was on the motors back then (it's about 30 years ago) but it REALLY p!$$#$ off your sponsor when you are only a few laps in the race when the motor scatters!
