Ferrari 355 with a 360 engine?

Sounds like a colossal waste of money... and a great way to ruin a 355 and a 360.

 

I think most of the 355 issues stem from lack of room to work, engine removal for service etc. A 360 engine wont change that....

 

There is a thread in the 355 section of a guy putting a 430 engine in a 355.

 

I would actually say a LOT deeper, and in fact engine bay room has little to no bearing on the 355 issues.

 

If this is possible and the car actually ran it would be completely worthless from a resale standpoint so if you do it make sure you want it for the rest of your life

 

They're essentially the same engine with exception of variable valve timing on the 360. It would be a waste of effort for about 20hp, which you could get out of the 355 engine for a lot cheaper and less effort. You could look into adapting the 360 airboxes to the 355, maybe that would be worth a few HP.

The only engine related issue that is unique to the 355 are the valve guides, the rest are the same on the 360. They have header issues as well, sometimes worse as the pre-cat is integrated into the header, so if either the header or precat go bad, you replace the whole thing unlike the 355 where you can often replace or eliminate the cats and relieve a lot of the strain on the headers.

I understand the 430 transplant and the 512M transplant, they give a pretty good bump in power and are a totally different engine, but putting a 360 engine in a 355 is essentially replacing the existing engine with a slightly updated version that doesn't really gain you much. If you had a blown up 355 that needed a new motor anyway, I could see it, but otherwise you'd be better off spending that $10-$15k on a lot of other things that would blow away a stock 360 motor. I'd be calling up Toda if I felt the 355 needed more power, but if it's running right the motor is the last place I'm going to look for speed. It needs better tires, stiffer springs to cope with modern tires, better brakes to cope with the better tires and can lose some weight. After doing all of that and actually being a good enough driver to push the car to it's limits, then I might think about adding some power.

 

This sounds like a very bad idea all around. It doesn't improve the original design, will cost a lot of money, and will lower the value of the 355 tremendously.

I might do something like this if I had a 355 laying around with no engine, and happened to get a free 360 engine. But even then...

 

This sounds like a wonderful idea! The 355 is SO gorgeous, but the engine? NO. For SO many reasons. I say go for it! And keep us posted.

 

I don't see how a well executed swap would render the car worthless, maybe one of the high dollar vintage cars but not a 355.

 

1) It would no longer be a 355
2) Nobody would dare work on it
3) Nobody would buy it
4) Nobody would take it on trade
5) Hard to tell a "well-executed" swap from a "poorly-executed" swap since it has not been done (to my knowledge) - certainly not common enough to have any sort of repeatable process for doing it which equals a "hack as you go/trial and error" result.

Heck a simple engine swap of the same make/model/year in a Corvette drops it's value significantly - putting a non-original 355 engine in a 355 drops it's value significantly - putting a 360 engine in a 355 pretty much renders it worthless as a complete car - obviously worth something simply based on parts value but not as a car anyone would make any effort to own.

 

What's wrong with the 355 engine? The 360 is the same engine with a few changes.

iThe biggest issue with this swap will be mating an engine designed for a longitudinal gearbox with a transverse one.

 

There is a lot of unnecessary fear and angst with regard to 355s in general. Yes SOME had valve guide issues and yes SOME had cat issues yadda yadda. The truth is if the 355 is running today and has decent miles on it those issues either were not present or have been addressed.

The insipid multi-terabyte thread about the whiny-ass customer who took his poorly-maintained 70,000 mile 355 in to FMFL for "service" - not major mind you but some other issue and ended up refusing the recommended service only to have the car need a major - then drove it 3,000 miles and had an issue yadda yadda - end game is the dealer offered an over-and-above deal to make things right and the guy got greedy and ended up parting with the car - sad story - too bad - but one case in a thousand.

Don't be scared off by all the mania - fact is if you listen to people who actually OWN or HAVE OWNED 355's - yes, they are expensive to maintain which leads to improper maintenance which leads to scenarios where the engines have issue and repairs are expensive. If you buy a properly-maintained car and continue to maintain it properly it is no more risky than any other exotic.

If you WANT a 355 buy a 355 and have money in reserve for maintenance. If you WANT a 360 buy a 360 and have money (albeit a bit less) in reserve for maintenance. If you WANT a 430 buy a 430 and have even less money in reserve (no more cambelts....).

Fact is buy what you WANT and what you can afford to purchase and maintain.

Cheers

 

It is? Unlie the 355, the 360 engine doesn't need to come out for a belt change.

 

Oh god.. another 355 thread on reliability. Disclaimer: I knew the guy who had the 355... and it's a matter viewpoint.

That being said, if you want a 355 buy it. And Shorn355 I respectfully disagree given my observations. Putting aside the engine out servicing costs as in mod the 355 so it has an engine panel behind the seats like the 360... the 355 engine is no way as reliable. That's the whole point. With the 360 you replace fluids every year and change the timing belts every 3-5 years. That's it. I wouldn't put my money on the line to bet that with the 355. I'd love to hear about the examples that ONLY need that. I wouldn't discourage a person from owning one.. but I also wouldn't give false hope and assurances either..

 

pffff... how about a 430 engine in a 355??

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Yes, but I think that is the car's fault and not the engine. The 360 has a big panel behind the seats that unbolts, leaving access to the belts. I'm pretty sure the 355 has no such access panel. Wait a minute, hold my beer, hand me a torch and watch this!

 

It seems the two have very similar fundamental design and even share some similar components in the crankcase. But.. it seems that subtle enhancements were made to the 360. Bearings for the crankshaft are different PN. Of course heads are different as well as with the variators. Makes me wonder what if any enhancements to oil flow to lifters or top end components made it in there.

That's just bad @-- with the 430 engine. Is chassis long enough for the tranny?

 

The top end maybe, but any bottom end issues seem to be related to maintenance and lack of use issues (acid in the oil pits the titanium conrods and 'boom', but the 360 has the same titanium rods). The main isdue with the 355 is the valve guides which have been addressed on a lot of cars, especially those with miles. The lifters also seem to have some issues, though less common, and the 360 has the exact same lifters (pn 195017).

I've had my 355 for 2 years and the sum total of engine work I've had to do on it is reroute a plug wire that was causing a plug to foul. In that time, I've taken multiple thousand mile trips, autocrossed it 4 times and run a track day. There are horror stories out there, but a common thread seems to be lack of knowledge, either before buying or a general lack of knowledge on how cars work. If you buy a bad car, you'll have problems. If you don't know your ass from a hole on the ground when it comes to cars, you'll have problems for no other reason than you will miss any and all warning signs that something is wrong before it goes 'boom.'

 

Íf you just happened to have a 355 without an engine laying around.
And if you just happened to have a 360 engine laying around.
And if you just happened to have a LOT of time and a significant amount of money.
Then.......... the answer might be "perhaps". Otherwise, definitely no.

 

Sure would be interesting...

I've always loved the 355 looks (and sound), but have been unsure about all the maintenance horror stories. I've had my 308 for something like 18 years now and have done all my own maintenance. I'll stick with the 308 for now, but once I have more time, maybe I'll add a 355 to the stable. Good luck if you ever pursue it.

 

No. It's an interesting idea. What harm would be done by finding a 360 motion a new home and putting more power into a 355.


Sure it would be easy---but no harm done.