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360 AMC vs 350 Olds |
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ZCODE 
AMC Apprentice 
Joined: Nov/13/2010 Location: KC Status: Offline Points: 78 |
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 Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 2:44pm |
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I don't know the reasons why the 360 is better, but it is. When I got out of the Army in 86 I bought a 77 Cutlass with headers. Put in a aftermarket cam and a shift kit. I still had my stock 360 73 Javelin from high school. The Cutlass was better at leaving rubber, but at higher rpms the Javelin always felt a lot stronger.
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Sonic Silver
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Joined: Nov/23/2011 Location: East Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 7949 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 3:30pm |
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Take a drive in a 350 W-31 Cutlass, and you will be impressed. The factory cam didn't have enough vacuum to run power brakes. That was a strong running Olds 350.
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FSJunkie
AMC Addicted 
Joined: Jan/09/2011 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Status: Offline Points: 4742 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 3:39pm |
After a total of 4 stoplight races, I realized how stupid it was and have since quit for good, with positive rewarding effects on my overall driving atttitude. It's no fun driving around looking for a race, and I value this vehicle far too much to flog it like that. I really don't want to be known as the idiot kid who races at stoplights. I want to be known as the good driver and fight the stereotype gentlemen of my age group face.
And no, I don't race the 1965 Rambler, either. She's a lady, and takes more than a few moments to gather her skirts before the gain of speed, if you know what I mean. A 4bbl would fix that, but I want that for the ease of cruising and the avalibility of power on demand, not for racing.
In any case, my past follies make for just about the only performance figures out there for stock Jeep Wagoneers. People say they're so underpowered, and they're not, especially for a full size utility vehicle. Many of them are geared better for acceleration than the AMC passenger cars and weigh slightly less than a full size Matador or Ambassador.
The key with 360's is their power curve. They develop lots of low torque, and keep it pretty well up into the RPM range. I think the factory under-rated them at 175 Net horsepower and 245 Gross. They sure feel more lively than 327's which were rated slightly higher at 250 Gross with the same carburetor combo. The best attribute to the 360 is probably it's breathing ability, yet breathing is the 327's weak point. Edited by FSJunkie - Dec/03/2012 at 3:42pm |
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1955 Packard
1966 Marlin 1972 Wagoneer 1973 Ambassador 1977 Hornet 1982 Concord D/L 1984 Eagle Limited |
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nda racer
AMC Addicted
Joined: Nov/28/2009 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 2591 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 5:43pm |
Yep, and that was a very heavy car. I had a 455 in an Omega. Posi with 275/60/15s and slappers bars it was very very very hard on tires.
 Not much for top end, but even with 2.56 gears, that thing had brute low end. That Oldsmanova weighed 3550 pds with me out. |
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348AMX
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Joined: Jul/03/2007 Location: Massachusetts Status: Offline Points: 4165 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 8:22pm |
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AMC V8's kick Arse that's why.
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SC397
AMC Addicted
Joined: Apr/30/2009 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 5476 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 9:23pm |
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I street raced against a 1969 Cutless with a "built" 350 when I was a 18 year old kid. He had a bunch of money in to the engine and transmission and it did sound healthy. He had a automatic. I had a '69 AMX with a junk yard '70 2 bbl 360 that I stuck a AFB and headers on. My car was a 4 speed with a 3.54 gear. I have no idea what gear he had. I think that I had side pipes on then too. He beat me out of the hole but I caught him when I hit second and by third, I was in front of him by half a car length. It doesn't mean anything really except for a great memory for me. My car was lighter, he may have had the wrong gear, who knows. All I know is that after I beat him then I had to race the "fastest car in school". Pier pressure you know.. Beat him too. '70 Scumaro 350 4 speed owned by a rich farm kid. All good fun and I am still alive!
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amx39068
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Joined: Feb/21/2008 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 11576 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 9:52pm |
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It will always be about HP to weigth ratio. AMCs with unibody were always lighter than most anything we raced. My 3100 lb 390 AMX would always spank my brother's 3900 lb 440 and 426 Hemi Chargers so even with the bigger engines in his cars, the AMX's HP to weight ratio was more favorable than his cars. The other reason I always beat him was not because the 390 had more power rather because while he was burning the rubber off his tires I had hooked up and was long gone and took him every time in a 1/4 mile. But I'll bet if it had been 1/2 mile the outcome would have been very different.
Same thing with the Jeep which may be a good stoplight runner but as soon as that rolling brick Jeeps builds up any kind of speed the sleeker and more aerodynamic cars will walk away from it no matter how well that 360 runs. |
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Dan Curtis-Owner and CEO AZ AMC Restorations; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amcmusclecars/ & Curtis Real Estate Development
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The PIG Smith
AMC Apprentice
Joined: Jul/14/2007 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 104 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 9:55pm |
I need a T-Shirt with those words and a hot AMC graphic!
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Bryan Smith
Fort Wayne, Indiana 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 1986 Jeep J20 1982 Jeep J10 |
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Rogue401
AMC Addicted
Joined: Nov/26/2010 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 1280 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 10:10pm |
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As long as we're telling 360 stories, in the early 70s, I built a 1935 Chevy street rod with a 70 AMC 390, torqueflite and Corvette 3.55 rear. It weighed about 3200 lbs. The 390 was really built for the day and the car was very quick. My friend who helped me with the chassis had a 1930 Ford sedan with a pretty hot 350 Chevy, Turbo 400 and the same Vette rear. The cars were very similar. We played around a little, but never really raced.
I always had trouble with oil pressure and the rings sealing, so I swapped the 390 for a junkyard 2BBL 360. I just hosed it off, painted it and used a R4B and a small Holley. It was actually a better car then, because the 390 had too much cam and compression.
A guy came along with some money and wanted both cars. We had just bought our house and we needed the money, so I sold the Chevy. Worst mistake of my life. The guy also bought my friend's Ford. The guy hated the AMC engine so he decided to race my AMC/Chevy against the Chevy/Ford and try to blow up the AMC and have some fun before he put a Chevy engine in it. Another friend of mine drove the Ford. They raced four times. My car won four out of four and didn't blow up, so he stuck with the "Nash" motor until he sold it. |
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69 ambassador 390
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Joined: Nov/22/2009 Location: Peoria, AZ Status: Offline Points: 3539 |
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Posted: Dec/03/2012 at 10:54pm |
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My Wagoneer has a fresh 84 360 with stock replacement pistons, a very mild came with a lift of around .455/.465 and 208/218 @ .050. 291C heads with mild springs and a factory 1973 4bbl. manifold. Dual exhaust and turbos. I could not get it to run very well with a H.P. series Holley but now I'm running a 1406 Eddy. After a bit of tuning she runs great. I get 20 inches of vac at idle and 18 in gear. Oil pressure is 40+ at hot idle and 65 hot at 60mph. I've driven 401 Wagoneers and this is at least as strong as a stock 401 4bbl. I'm really impressed with the way it responded to just little bolt ons and a bump in compression of about 5 points. First 360 I've owned. I always ran 343 and 390 cars and parted out the 360s I came across. Now if I could just get better than 12mpg.
Edited by 69 ambassador 390 - Dec/03/2012 at 11:04pm |
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Steve Brown
Algonac, Mi. 69 Ambassador sst 390 84 Grand Wagoneer 69 Cougar XR7 65 Fairlaine 500XL 79 F-350 Super Camper Special |
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bigbad69 wrote: