AMC 360 ENGINE BUILD UP

RamblinJavelin72 wrote: I have had the 7132 sitting here for over 10 years so I'm pretty well dedicated to it now, everything is matched to the heads, intake ,etc as per the specs, I wasn't a fan of the 1500-6500 rpm range but to be honest I can see myself hitting 6k whenever I do race. The car is a manual so I was going to run the idle around 950 rpm +/-, by the time you consider your revs and release of the clutch at the line, you are already making the proper rpm range upon launch or very very close. No? Like I said first build so I'm just going off literature and what other friends and family have done with there Chevy SB's, and Mopar BB's. I know it probably won't be the ideal "street" car but it already is the least streetable car I have when it comes to road manners. I may have to look into a larger oil pan down the road.

The RPM range of that cam appears to be a little more optimistic than reality. With those duration numbers I would estimate a more realistic RPM power band of 2500-6200. The give away is the recommendation on a 3000 stall converter for an automatic. 3000 stall is terrible in a street car, the car would feel extremely slow till almost about 2500 then power will finally come on all at once. A manual transmission will make that cam way more tolerable on the street however.

6200 rpm is about the upper limit of a hydraulic flat tappet cam can muster because of valve float. If you want more RPM than that one would need to switch to a solid flat tappet or go roller cam.


Edited by akimmet - Oct/27/2017 at 11:45am

Well hopefully the street manners won't be a huge issue, I live in a town with one set of lights, and the car is a 4 speed. Plus there is a lot of  open road up hear to enjoy in Alberta. They just repaved the 12 mile stretch near my farm and it is like a runway. Can't wait to put this thing to the test, I'm thinking my factory 14" tires aren"t going to last long...

I really don't want to splurge on another camshaft they aren't cheap up here. That said, could I not compensate in areas such as rear gearing?  Currently has 3.54, what if I went to a 3.73 or something? I always run 94 octane plus a dose of the good booster.


Edited by RamblinJavelin72 - Oct/28/2017 at 10:31am

I think 373s would be a good way to go too.. but you also may want to look at some RPM /tire size calculators and ask yourself if you don't mind driving it at that RPM for long periods of time. My tires are like 25.75 in diameter and the 373 do seem to get a little old on the highway. Speed limits here like 70 to 75 miles an hour legally on the highway.. in my car which is an automatic is maybe at 3500 RPM at 75..

If you like highway driving I wouldn't go any with any more gear than the 3.54. I have 3.73 gears in my 72 jav and with a 27" tall tire it runs at about 3300 @ 70. Personally this is tolerable but if I take it any higher it's in short bursts as it will start to heat up maintaining any speed higher than 70. The 3.73 gear definately helps get the car moving off the line especially if the trans is a close ratio t10.
Are you sure you have the 3.54 ratio, 2500 rpm seems off for 70mph? Seems more like a 3.15 gear.