360 engine swap

[johnbilt]

I swapped a 360 into my CJ5 20 years ago. They work great! However, If you are heavy on the throttle, you may find the weak link in your drivetrain quickly. I already had a AMC 304 , so the 360 bolted right in.

It will provide a nice cruise down the highway and good torque for lugging along off-road.

Good Luck - John

 

[Posi]

The engine compartment fuel lines would need to be run to the driver side on a V8 (passenger side 6).

As mentioned passenger side frame mount would need to be swapped. If you’re going with a 360 you’ll need the AMC 304 motor mounts as well.

6 to 360

 

[Dadof3futurejeepers]

Well I swapped the 360 in and def for the most part I am loving the added power and rumble under the hood! I have ran into problems with overheating and vapor lock even though I have a 3core radiator it still isn't enough to keep it from heating up alot! I am looking for a shoud and also welded the fan so that it wouldn't spin freely so that eliminated some of the problems. I went with a set of headers instead of the stock manifolds and that def provided a lil more umph.

 

[Incommando]

Well I swapped the 360 in and def for the most part I am loving the added power and rumble under the hood! I have ran into problems with overheating and vapor lock even though I have a 3core radiator it still isn't enough to keep it from heating up alot! I am looking for a shoud and also welded the fan so that it wouldn't spin freely so that eliminated some of the problems. I went with a set of headers instead of the stock manifolds and that def provided a lil more umph.

Headers also create more under hood heat by allowing the heat to escape through the thin metal of the tubes and then into the engine compartment. Full-length under chassis headers have shown increases in power on even stock Jeeps but the shorty's and the fender well designs have shown little to no increase in the actual customer testing ( not sales ads) that I have seen. If you 'wheel where there is mud or a lot of water most headers have very short lives.

Check the routing of your fuel lines to see if that is not one problem with your vapor lock. Adequate distance from a stock cast manifold may not be adequate distance from a sheet metal header tube. This is especially true of the lines as they enter and exit the mechanical fuel pump if that is what you are using.

Also, for those running them aluminum intakes pass on more heat more quickly than a cast intake. An insulating spacer between the carb & intake may help alleviate the vapor lock.

 

[Posi]

Electric fan

 

[HP HOG]

I am using a 360/408 CI in a CJ5 would a dodge pickup 4x4 transmision from the mid 80s and a 208 Transfer Case work in my CJ5 ?

 

[gert]

That would be the NP 435 tranny I don't think you will find an AMC bell housing or adapter for it

 

[Kilo19]

so i'm going out on a limb here with the 360...i was gonna go with a chevy 350 drivetrain, but the deal fell thru and now on the hunt for another drivetrain. i can get a 1984?? grand wagoneer with the amc360 in it. buuuuut, is it better then chevy? my biggest question is which is harder to find parts, and more expensive?

thx

 

[BusaDave9]

i can get a 1984?? grand wagoneer with the amc360 in it. buuuuut, is it better then chevy?
thx

We've had this debate before. I say the AMC V8 will be cheaper and better becouse it's an AMC where an AMC should be. The factory did this so it's not really a mod. Sure the factory never put the 360 in a CJ but its the same block as the AMC 304 .
Others will chime in saying the parts are cheaper for a SBC. I will disagree now, before they even speak up.

 

[Kilo19]

i was looking at rebuilding the 350 myself (minus the machine work, mainly just cleaning it up, if machining is needed, i have some connections i can use.) would the 360 be doable as well

 

[xena1]

Did the same swap from a AMC 232 i6 to a 360. My advice would be to get the M.O.R.E. bomb-proof one piece motor mounts. I used a cross-flow aluminum radiator which keeps motor super cool. An extension of the wires going to water sending unit and oil will be required as well. Fuel line needs to cross over to driver's side, I bent a line and attached it to radiator support member and back to pump.