Motor swap. Is it worth it?

[lewisipso]

First I would have to have someone else do the actual hands on. My son has a 1976 or 1979 4x4 Dodge Ram Charger with a 360. Motor is in great shape but the vehicle is toast. I have the opportunity to swap that motor and anything else in it over to my 79 CJ. The CJ is a standard 3 speed and the Dodge is an auto. Is this a feasible venture? If so how difficult is the swap? And finally, can anyone give me even a ballpark amount of what someone could charge for it?
Any and all info is appreciated in advance.
Thanks
James

 

[IOPort51]

If there is nothing wrong with the AMC 304 I would think it a whole lot of work for not a lot of gain.

First I would have to have someone else do the actual hands on. My son has a 1976 or 1979 4x4 Dodge Ram Charger with a 360. Motor is in great shape but the vehicle is toast. I have the opportunity to swap that motor and anything else in it over to my 79 CJ. The CJ is a standard 3 speed and the Dodge is an auto. Is this a feasible venture? If so how difficult is the swap? And finally, can anyone give me even a ballpark amount of what someone could charge for it?
Any and all info is appreciated in advance.
Thanks
James

 

[Cheepjeep85]

x2 i'm with IO, could get real expensive, especially if you plan on paying somebody else to do it. i wouldn't even be able to guess at how many hours it would take to do the conversion, or what a shop's hourly rate would be.

 

[Old Dog]

If you have to pay to have it done, than I agree with IO and Cheep.
I think a shop would chharge way more money than it would be worth.
If you were going to do it, I'd say go for it.

 

[ken98k]

Is a dodge 360 similar to an amc 360?

 

[Busted Knuckles]

Is a dodge 360 similar to an amc 360?

In that they share the CID and both made from cast iron, and thats it.

Swapping a stock dodge 360 for a AMC 304 , if the AMC 304 runs good, you might be worse off, and never mind the time, hassle and money.

You might be ahead just setting a couple grand on fire, you will have less headaches and can still drive the jeep when it would be othewise tore apart.

You really want more power in the jeep, throw an offy 4 barrel intake, holley 1850 and some headers and exhaust, and you got plenty-o-power. From what I remeber of a 76-79 dodge truck 360, is that they where a dog. The dodge is a better motor, but the vintage you reference has no cam and very little power, its truly not worth the time the cash or the trouble.

BTW, Im not fan of AMC V8s, and have been playing with them for 25 years, My jeep no longer runs an AMC.

You asked so there you go !

 

[kickitandholdit]

Not worth it. Doing a v8 swap you will alwayes end up with way more invested than its worth unless you have all the stuff laying just arround and you have the time to do it yourself. If your set on a v8 swap i would save up and do a chevy 350. Your going to spend a ton doing a swap so you might as well at least try to end up with chevy parts. Chevy parts are easier to come across and are generaly cheaper to rebuild and have a better reputation when it comes to resale value.

 

[HP HOG]

I am doing a Dodge 360 with a stroker kit = 408. The chevy in a Jeep is like a cookie cutter every one does their Jeep with chevy parts. The longer the stroke the more torque you will have. The Dodge 360 has more stroke than a chevy 350. That being said the 360 will have more torque . If you have the $$$ Go for it.

 

[Torxhead]

One more vote here for keeping the AMC 304 . I enjoy it when i'm out on a club run and I get to drive by the gas station and the big motored guys have the stop and refuel.

 

[duffer]

This is one case you would be money ahead to just build an AMC 360 if you are set on an upgrade for the AMC 304 but BK's upgrades on the AMC 304 would even be cheaper. That said, I too am no fan of AMC engines.

Cookie cutter or not, if you are going to do a swap, the sbc is still the way to go. If you want torque, just use a 400 crank or aftermarket and build a 383. Not at all difficult to pull over 500 ft lbs from a 383. There is no other engine platform that even comes close to a Chevy small block for parts interchangeability and aftermarket support. Just about anything you can dream of is available off-the-shelf.

 

[poppatello]

I'm I missing something here? Is there a page or post I can't see? Other then the OP's profile info nothing in the OP's post saids anything about a AMC 304 and that it has issues. All he's asking if the Dodge 360 motor and tranny components work in his Cj.

I also looked @ a Dodge 360 motor and yes they are completely different. I oped not to go that route.

Someone posted that they would never do an AMC swap. I have done a lot of research on it and AMC seems to have a great running history and reliability. Mostly everything on these forums are just opinions and folks need to learn how to read that.

I also have a AMC 304 and I have decided to install that because it was rebuilt and hardly any miles on it. I got it cheaper then any other motor going in my area.

Other then the fact the 360 may be bigger why are you thinking of switching out the AMC 304 ?

I know the AMC 304 will serve me way better then the AMC 150 I have in it now. I just hope one statement made in this thread is somewhat true. Passing the gas stations in a AMC 304 Cj while other bigger V8's are filling up...

 

[HP HOG]

I have the Dodge 360 /408 all new and I have the 727 transmision with a 208 Transfer Case . I am working on a set of 3/4 ton Dodge axles . I am moving the axles 6 inches out for a longer drive shaft. I want to move the axles out so I don't have to trim the front of the rear wheel wells . I am moving the front out so I don't have to trim the back of the front wheel wells . YES it is a lot of work! That is what I want to do with my CJ5 . Will the Dodge right hand drop 208 Transfer Case fit in the frame ? This project is a dodge thing.

 

[1 Bad CJ5]

I'm I missing something here? Is there a page or post I can't see? Other then the OP's profile info nothing in the OP's post saids anything about a AMC 304 and that it has issues. All he's asking if the Dodge 360 motor and tranny components work in his Cj.

I also looked @ a Dodge 360 motor and yes they are completely different. I oped not to go that route.

Someone posted that they would never do an AMC swap. I have done a lot of research on it and AMC seems to have a great running history and reliability. Mostly everything on these forums are just opinions and folks need to learn how to read that.

I also have a AMC 304 and I have decided to install that because it was rebuilt and hardly any miles on it. I got it cheaper then any other motor going in my area.

Other then the fact the 360 may be bigger why are you thinking of switching out the AMC 304 ?

I know the AMC 304 will serve me way better then the AMC 150 I have in it now. I just hope one statement made in this thread is somewhat true. Passing the gas stations in a AMC 304 Cj while other bigger V8's are filling up...

poppa, perhaps you missed the title of the thread. It asks if the swap is worth it. So yes, you are going to have a lot of opinions on if it is worth it or not.

And my vote goes to not being worth it if there are no issues with your current set up.