engine build question

[jeepboy45]

Hey Guys,,,

Then 360 I am building was already torn down when I bought it in pieces. Just picked it up from machine shop and for the life of me cant find documentation of which way the connecting rods go in. Both the cap and rod are stamped with the cylinder number, but I dont know if the numbers face inboard or outboard on the crank journal. Plus, the very top of the connecting rod is not perfectly symetrical so I know it does matter which way they go.

As shown here, there is a small "dimple" on the top of each piston....I am assuming it goes towards the front of the engine, but I dont want to just assume..

thanks for any help...

brian

There is a small dimple on top of each piston. I am "assuming" that this points forward, but I dont really want to just "assume"...

Any help.

brian

 

[jeepboy45]

I did a bit more reading and found the answer.... Plus I cracked the oil pan off a AMC 304 I had on a stand and compared...

The "dimple" on the top of the piston must be a reference to point towards the front. But the real way to determine is that the squirt hole on the side of the connecting rod points toward the opposite bank of cylinders.

Or you could say that the numbers on the connecting rod face toward the outside of the block...

either way is ok to describe it.....

I should have read further before posting this...

brian

 

[CJim7]

The connecting rods on my 401 have arrows that point....interestingly enough...towards the rear of the block.

 

[jeepboy45]

The connecting rods on my 401 have arrows that point....interestingly enough...towards the rear of the block.

Haha...its funny you should reply....

My sons 17 and 14 were with me at the auto parts store yesterday picking up the ring compressor and we started looking at engine paint. Guess what color they both thought was WAY COOL..? Yep....your lime green engine paint!! I told them there was a guy on this site who had one that looked really cool... But with the maroon body, probably wouldnt look good..

Interesting your rods have arrows.... are they factory?

brian

 

[CJim7]

These parts are all factory......thinking back, i believe the arrows are on the rod caps. on the side of each cap is a number (1-8) that corresponds with a number on the rod itself (again 1-8). The arrows are on the center of the bearing cap....visible with the oil pan off. I questoned whether or not they were wrong when I first saw them...

Your son's have good taste in engine paint!

 

[jeepboy45]

CJim7 :

What do you think about advancing the cam timing to get the hp band a bit lower than stock?

The cam I got is basically stock... I did NOT want anything with a ton of lift and duration...I wanted something with good off-idle response.

I'd like to put timing set in tonight, and was leaning towards advancing it.

Thanks

brian

 

[priceg]

Do not put the cam gear on in the advance position. I repeat, do not do this. Install in the zero position. There is not enough adjustment in stock valve train to compensate. You can impact valves even with dish pistons.

 

[jeepboy45]

Do not put the cam gear on in the advance position. I repeat, do not do this. Install in the zero position. There is not enough adjustment in stock valve train to compensate. You can impact valves even with dish pistons.

I was all set to use the advance position on the timing set until you wrote this. I did so on a AMC 304 I had, with no signs of bad issues. But I might have just been lucky.

thanks for the imput, not I am definitely re-thinking this.

I'll repost this in a different thread so it is a stand-alone topic..

thanks again
brian

 

[CJ]

Hmm. I always degree my cams when installing them. Never had an interference issue. The stock compression ratio is so low there will never be a valve lock.