josehf34

Hi everybody, I just bought a Plymout Fury 1974 Sedan 4 door with the stock Magnum 360 V8 engine with only 78000 Miles.

I was reading on www.allpar.com and I Founded this engine only has 160HP, How is possible this engine has this low horsepower performance?


I Want to increase the Horsepower without increase the fuel consumption, what can I do?

PK1

Could you mean stock "LA" 360 engine? You stated, Magnum. And if someone put a Magnum 360 in there is has more that 160 hp.

And yes, you can add horse power and get good mileage. However, it is totally dependent on the heaviness of your right foot

blue 68 gts

Motors got seriously detuned starting in the early to mid 70s.

It helped to decrease emissions and improve fuel mileage.



You're not going to get a whole ton of power AND good gas mileage, unless you put forth some serious $$$.

Get rid of the emissions crap, get a cam, intake, exhaust and a good carb, tune her up a bit, youll be good to go for power.

440roadrunner

AND.............somewhere about that time, "everybody" went from the "old" advertised HP to so called "net" hp which was supposed to include things like power steering, etc.

Is this a "lean burn" engine?

TVLynn

74 is before the lean burn system, Started in 76?

josehf34

Hi everybody and thanks for all the responses.

My car has the stock 360 V8 2BBL engine with stock carburetor, all in this car is stock.

I was looking for the engine specs but I can't found info about the Horsepower and torque of this engine, can somebody help me?

What hints can the users give to me to increase the horsepower without increase the fuel consumption? I'm not looking for a dragster engine but I can be happy with 280HP or 300HP from this 5.9L V8 engine with a gas milleage of 12 to 13MPG

josehf34

Somebody can help me with this??

440roadrunner

What kind of help do you want?

Where are you, U.S. or overseas? If you are in a locale that requires smog inspections on older vehicles, like the state of Arizona, there might not be much you can do.

You have to realize that you have a large heavy car, which were typically geared really high, with a low stall torque converter.

You need to assess the engine condition. Does it have good compression? Burn oil? Is the camshaft OK? timing chain worn? Can you beg or borrow some instrumentation, like a friends accelerometer (G-tech) and or a GPS? Try to do some 0-60 or 1/4 mile tests, and see what it looks like there. In other words, you need a baseline.

Even a "known" stretch of road is better than nothing. If you have a clean unobstructed and less patrolled stretch, and the car does XX mph in that stretch, then when you change something, you know whether you gained or lost.


Give it a good honest tuneup. When was the last time the ignition components were changed? And don't forget the SIMPLE stuff. DOES THE carburetor open all the way when floored? You'd be AMAZED at the number of vehicles over the years (I'm 64) I've found that did NOT.

Second thing, I'd look at the distributor. Is it working as designed? The advance might be stuck, etc. I'd either have it recurved or buy a performance aftermarket distributor with a shorter advance curve, so that you can then use more initial timing for better low -- mid response

Probably the next thing to do, if you don't have "it" is to convert to dual exhaust. Even a muffler shop "job" where you cut the "Y" pipe and build from there, is much better than single exhaust

If it's a 2 bbl carb, find yourself a factory 360 4bbl manifold, or something like an Edlebrock Performer or Performer RPM.

I know you said "keep the mpg" but this is difficult. You MIGHT want a step or two lower in rear gear, depending on what's in there now and your tire size.

There is a reason "we" joke about these being a "C Barge." They are heavy

moparted

a 4 bbl intake/ carb wont add more than 15 hp

theFUSELAGE KING

FIRST: Look up the VIN of your car AND/OR the fender tag under the hood. That will help you positively I.D. EXACTLY what you have under the hood and HP numbers beyond any doubt.
SECOND: get yourself a FSM....factory Service Manual or "shop manual" for your model/year. I have 2 for my Newport...a 1970 Chrysler Imperial/New Yorker/Newport service manual and then a Chilton's. These books are invaluable.

Honestly though, I don't see you pulling another 150hp out of your late model 360 without doing some SERIOUS machine work. 300hp would be almost 1hp for every cubic inch of motor. You might be able to get 25-30 more hp out of the 360 with serious carb/intake/camshaft/exhaust changes.....but there is no way your pulling another additional 150hp w/o taking the heads off (and spending much $$$$$).

If you are dead stuck having 280-300hp motor under the hood it might be cheaper to pull the 360 and swap it for a larger 383, 400 or 440 motor. You'll also most likely need to change the transmission and rear also. There are still millions of 383's still in junkyards. I see salvage yard owners using 383 cores for door stops, or making benches, so they are definitely still around.

Otherwise if you can pull 200hp tops out of your smogger 360 without breaking the bank I'd be VERY happy with that. My 2 pennies.

josehf34

All this week I looked for the service manual on the internet but I didn't found anything!

The low factory horsepower is some strange for me because the '71 318 has an output of 230HP and my '74 360 is lower than 200HP or I guess that.

I'm planning to change the air filter, and replace the ignition system for a MSD kit

theFUSELAGE KING

The hp rating switched in 72' or 73' I'm not sure, but the SAE (believe it "Society of Automotive Engineers) change hp ratings from "gross" output....to "net" output. I THINK "gross" numbers were calculated at the flywheel, while "net" were calculated at the rear wheels: net ratings takes into account all the hp drag the engine carries in real world environment rather in a dyno booth. Don't quote me on it, if I'm in error maybe someone else here can correct me. Sooo....the 71' 318 hp rating was taken at the flywheel, while your 74' 360 was calculated at the rear wheels. Plus, you have to take into account all the smog equip on your 360 as well, which kills hp.

Good luck with your mods.....search the internet the Factory Service Manuals are out there....try Ebay BUT do get one.

Uncommon

Summit high rise intake, Holley 4 barrel,hooker headers, true duel exhaust and she will move. That's my setup and I'm happy

theFUSELAGE KING

Its all about the camshaft. Headers, intake, Carb mean nothing if you still have a plain jane bread a butter cam pushing those valves open and shut. Get ALL 4 of those pieces properly matched together and you can get your Aunt Mildred's 198 slant 6cyl satellite to run like a 440/6PAK or HEMI car...................well, not really...but you get my point.