360 engine in 355

Has anyone or can a 360 motor fit in the 355 engine bay hooked up to the 355 transmission?

 

Very simular engine so why bother?

 

just curious. Also arent there fewer problems with the 360 motor? I have a problem with my 95 355 and just thinking worst case scenarios. My car is making a ticking noise (loud). hae not seen any evidence of cracked headers or anything. Sounds like a the valve train as if valves are not adjusted. If I rev it up to 3500 rpm the ticking goes away but engine still sounds loud. also car makes a whistling kind of noise as the kind you hear on the radio when losing signal. Its driving me nuts. Car has less than 30000 miles on it

 

Worst case scenario is to rebuild your heads and/or engine and be done with it.

Talk of 360 engine transplant into 355 will cost A LOT more than a 355 engine rebuild.

Have the noise inspected by a pro if you are not 100% what the noise is. You will soon know whats going on and what needs to be done.

Sounds like cracked headers to me, you probably just cant see where the crack/s are.

 

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking headers as well because at first it would tick for a couple of minutes and then go away ut was never loud. Now it is loud and would the noise go away as you rev the motor past 3500rpm? Also can i do away with those air injectors?

 

As to noise: Check the hydraulic lifters (i.e. not easy).
As to whistling: big leak in air intake system? ball/roller bearing going out?

As to 360 motor in 355:
A) 360 ECU does not fit 355 wiring harness
B) 355 ECU will not run a 360 motor
C) 355 motor has individual throttle bodies
D) 360 has 2 throttles and a cross over throttle that switches the air from one side to the other

As to fewer 360 motor problems: Maybe, and maybe it just that these motors are just 6 years younger. {Excepting the known and documented valve guide issue.}

 

How does one check the hydraulic lifters? If headers go does car lose power at all?

 

I suspect the problems transplanting a 360 would be considerable and my own view is that if it's possible that it would probably be equally possible to lever a 430 in there and I think I'd be more inclined to go the whole hog and give her a real boost!

I look forward to your thread with interest!

Good luck!

 

Pull the cams and lift them out. Check for gauling, and surface erosion. {Unlikely for this to take place with the engine in the car.}

Yes, and no--depending on the leak and how observant the driver is. A broken header on a race car will instantaneously make the car uncompetitive--down 20-50 HP. A small crack in a road car is almost unnoticible except when the exhaust valves become burnt.

 

The symptons are a ticking noise (that may or may not go away with revs or heat...depends on the severity of the failure) and a louder engine?
That sounds like a cracked header.......pull your headers off and examine them (smoke test or water test or remove the heat shields).
This is a simple diagnosis and repair (although a little costly unless you go aftermarket).
The whistling noise could be an air intake leak.
And as others have said a 360 swap is not the answer.

 

Thanks guys really appreciate the replies. The 360 engine is more of an extreme case scenario for some reason those motors are more abundant and can be found quicker. I have towait till spring to find out anyway. Just moved and I'm working on building a five car garage with three lifts so I can do the work. Right now car is under cover in a friends garage I have not really driven the car for about a year and a half since this noise sstarted. I start it every now and then so to not let the motor sit and get the fluids flowing. It just breaks my heart every time I start. It sounds like the valve train is on the outside of the car. Hopefully there is no damage to the head but once pull motor out and check chances are I will have the heads rebuilt.

For now the 308 will have to suffice. Especially since nick from forza rebuilt my motor and put EFI and distributorless ignition on it. The car is like a completely different animal. Also waiting to get my TR back from Norwood who has done the same thing (put a motec). So this spring shall be an exciting time of year for me.

One more question on the 355. Since I no longer need to pass emissions can I take off those air pump lines on the headers and delete all those air pumps and vacuums. It's a 95 with 2.7. Also is there a chip that I can put that I can put in the ECM as to lean out the mixture when idling because it runs so rich it burns my eyes. Car is running test pipes with a tubi exhaust.

 

That's a common misconception for a car with (relatively) high overlap cams and no catalytic converters.

If your o2 sensors are functioning correctly, it is idling at stoich. Regardless, unburned hydrocarbons will still make their way out of the exhaust during overlap.

 

Dam interesting question ! Both motors come from the same bore centers/architecture . I don't think the 360 inlet plenum would fit under the rear deck lid ? 355 TB do fit on 360 heads . The oilpumps are in the same place , not sure about the oil inlet and out let as to whether they are in the same place ? 360 has variable exhaust valve timing although I have read this is really only for emmision ?? So could be left alone . I would like to known if the 360 heads are longer to accomodate the variators , or did they allow for this in the 355 ? ( I don't have much 355 data ) here are some pic's first two are 355 then 360 . The pic of the inlet plenum flange is 360 and the TB are obviously 355 . 355 TB mounting studs are M8 where the 360 is M6 . I machined up some spacers to get them to line up perfectly , bolt spacing is the same . Does anyone have a pic of the 355 head with the tappet cover removed ? Last pic is a 360 head .
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The cars exhaust is burning your eyes because you have no cats on.
Put a set of high flow cats on and your car won't stink any more.