360 or 340? Need some advice

[B2G707]

At the moment my 70 Challenger has a 360 in it. A friend of mine offered to sell me his 340 engine in excellent condition. Pretty much ready to swap out my 360 drop the 340 engine and go!!

My question is should I keep my 360 engine and max it out to its full potential? Or just get the 340 engine and max that out to its full potential?

All advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance everyone.

 

[aussiemark]

Go for the 340 they are an awesome engine it has a 4.040" std bore so if it goes to .060" (the maximum safe size) it will have a 4.100" bore size the 360 has a 4 inch bore (same as a Ford or Chevy small block) and the maximum bore size will be 4.060" same as a 340 that has a .020" over bore. The larger bore allows the engine to breathe better because the valves are not canted they follow the bore as they open and don't move away from it (like a canted valve head)so the fuel and exhaust fill flow better between the bore and valve. Also the 340 has a shorter stroke then the 360 this reduces piston speed at any given RPM and increases reliability in a high RPM engine. Even if you decide to build a stroked engine you will end up with more cubes because of the larger bore size and you will benefit from the better breathing capability also your car is a 1970 car so the 340 is period correct for your car. Check out this article about the 340.

How Bad Did Mopar’s 340 beat Ford & Chevy? Shocking New Data! - Hot Rod Network

 

[KATSAAR]

why spend the $$$$ when you have a good running motor in it.
is the rest of the car 100% perfect.
put the $$$ into something else the car may need.

 

[rbbruno3]

If you can get the 340 for a good price I’d pick it up just to have. They are hard to find in my neck of the woods. Good points by both Aussie and Katsaar . your post is a little misleading it says the 340 is excellent ready to drop in . Then you say you want to max out which ever one you use.

 

[Adam]

Not numbers matching so...
Guys want thousands for 340s, but 360s are almost free. You can get a 360 and put those thousands into a balanced stroker kit with premium rods, pistons, etc.

Personally, I like a bit of overkill.

In fact Summit Racing has an entry level Scat 360 to 408 stroker kit for $1172, with free shipping. Internal balance, forged rods, hypereutectic pistons, rings & bearings.

 

[B2G707]

If you can get the 340 for a good price I’d pick it up just to have. They are hard to find in my neck of the woods. Good points by both Aussie and Katsaar . your post is a little misleading it says the 340 is excellent ready to drop in . Then you say you want to max out which ever one you use.

You right my fault. To be honest I’m pretty knew and still learning about all this engine stuff lol. But basically my friend is selling me his 340 for $1600 and he showed it to me looks in great condition. But I was assmuning it can still be upgraded.

Before all I kept thinking of was 440’s and Hemi’s. But I realized a small block with ower is all I need.

 

[B2G707]

Not numbers matching so...
Guys want thousands for 340s, but 360s are almost free. You can get a 360 and put those thousands into a balanced stroker kit with premium rods, pistons, etc.

Personally, I like a bit of overkill.

In fact Summit Racing has an entry level Scat 360 to 408 stroker kit for $1172, with free shipping. Internal balance, forged rods, hypereutectic pistons, rings & bearings.

This is exactly what people said I can do. Keep my 360 and just throw a stroker kit along with other few upgrades. So the entry level scat 360 to 408 is a good stroker kit to go with?

 

[KATSAAR]

next question,, what does the car have for a tranny? 904 or 727.
what is the rear ?

 

[seneca]

What year is the 340? Makes a big difference if it is 72 or 73 .

 

[moparleo]

What is your goal ? What does "Max it out to its full potential mean ?" Do you want a good daily driver or is this a weekend toy ? A street car is a street car and a racecar is a race car You have to make choice. Old saying goes " Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go ?"

 

[aussiemark]

At that price if the 340 is in good shape get it and put it in the car I think this deal with your friend was supposed to be.

 

[moparleo]

Why does your friend want to downgrade what he has ?

 

[B2G707]

What is your goal ? What does "Max it out to its full potential mean ?" Do you want a good daily driver or is this a weekend toy ? A street car is a street car and a racecar is a race car You have to make choice. Old saying goes " Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go ?"

Weekend toy and basically max it out I mean by doing all the possible upgrades I possibly can.

 

[B2G707]

Why does your friend want to downgrade what he has ?

He has a extra 340 sitting on a pallete shrink wrapped just sitting there from onebof his previous Mopars.

 

[B2G707]

What year is the 340? Makes a big difference if it is 72 or 73 .

Not sure I will ask though

 

[moparleo]

You need to be a lot more specific than "doing all possible upgrades you possibly can. Only you know what your knowledge and mechanical skillset is. Every starts with a budget. And then an actual goal. HP/Torque, top speed, lowest E.T. ,pump gas, turbo, supercharged, factory/aftermarket heads, 10K-20K budget. Done in six months or 6 years ? Your question is so vague that it can't be answered. I am going to guess that you are a newbee and just want a reponse.

 

[B2G707]

You need to be a lot more specific than "doing all possible upgrades you possibly can. Only you know what your knowledge and mechanical skillset is. Every starts with a budget. And then an actual goal. HP/Torque, top speed, lowest E.T. ,pump gas, turbo, supercharged, factory/aftermarket heads, 10K-20K budget. Done in six months or 6 years ? Your question is so vague that it can't be answered. I am going to guess that you are a newbee and just want a reponse.

I definitely am a newbee as I stated in previous post. Just trying to learn as I go.

 

[aussiemark]

It doesn't matter what you do the 340 is better then the 360, who cares about trying to save 1.6k just get it and sell the 360 to get back some of the money. When you say 1970 Challenger with a 360 it doesn't sound right but when you say 1970 Challenger with a 340 that sounds proper. 340's are the second rarest engine to find (426 Hemi being the rarest) trying to save money is the last thing on my mind when making choices for the cars if it was I would be commenting on a Hyundai forum right now.

 

[draginmopars]

only you can decide....> goal > budget
or budget > goal.

( I mostly am on the "A" body site, but, starting on the Cuda this week)
Someone put a 360 in my Cuda..
I wanted a 340 back in it.
building it for cruising/ meeting @ the drag strip..
after 2 years decided on "Big" small block with overdrive.
pulling out of storage, soon as weather permits..

Eng is built, still sitting in my mobile dyno...lol

 

[aussiemark]

That's an awesome machine I have never seen headers installed like that.