I got a LA 360 from '79. What all do I need to run twin turbos? And will it be worth it for a rat rod engine?

 

It will require a lot of fab work, fuel system work, ignition ect. The only person that can give you the answer of is it worth it or not is you. If you can do the fab work and can source all the parts then it can be done easy enough.

 

Well the main reason this rat rod is getting built is to race my brothers '31 Ford coupe. It's completely restored and he thinks its unstoppable in a 1/8th mile. Unfortunately he beat my neighbors '74 Cuda. So I have to beat him so he'll shut up about his Chevy powered Ford.

 

Doable definitely NOT CHEAP. 79 360 most likely has a cast crank. So you will need to start there with a forged crank/rods/pistons. Big aluminum heads.. So build a 408" stroker

 

So what's the best way to get the most power out of a 360 without breaking the bank?

 

If this is a grudge thing tell us what he's got. If you turbo and he's not then he'll say he would have beat you if he was turboed or cubic inches or whatever it could be when you beat a Chevy guy.

 

What is he running for times in the 1/8?
And how bad do you want to beat him, you want to make him snivel, or cry like a newborn?

 

Haha it's just half-brother competition. It's his and his dad's car. It's got a 350 crate, cammed up, with dual quad Edelbrock 750s on a standard Edel dual quad intake, Hooker headers, hooked up to a auto trans, and a Ford 9" with 3:73 gears, and 10" wide cheater slicks in the back. Its a complete restoration. My car is half of a '25 Dodge Bros. sedan(it was cut in half to be made a pickup on the farm). It's getting a 360 LA with 2 barrel Holley carb, and unknown headers(it's all used parts, it's just going it so it runs for the time being) and a Torqueflite 727 with a Ford 8.8" with 3:55 gears. I don't have anything special for tires yet. I'm not sure what all is aluminum on that '31 but as of now my car is all steel, but is absolutely bare bones.

 

It's never been on a strip. It's all highway racing(it's all country up here). I know the Cuda it beat has around $20000 under the hood, and put cheaters on just for the race and the Coupe still beat it by a few car lengths. I'm thinking big cam and a Weiand Tunnel Ram with 2 Holley 750s and hooker headers. Maybe an electric water pump too. And I have to beat him! He grew up on the other side of the family, and always had money and nicer vehicles than me. Plus he down on Dodge every chance he gets, so I have to crush him. I can't do turbos cuz he'll just say that's whys he lost. Strictly all engine now.

 

Stay away from a 2x4 intake and go with a single 750cfm and an M1 or Ed Air Gap. Add a big cam and think about bigger valves or aftermarket head. Don't use 1 5/8" headers,too small for upper rpm HP. Make some oil modifications and you'll be as good as you can get unless you stroke it. If you search you'll find lots of easy reasonable Magnum head conversions to.

 

First off it's not hard to make a 400 to 450 hp 360, and that power in a 2,500 lbs race car will do high 10s/ low 11s in the quarter at the track.
So while your building a rat rod you need to be building a chassis capable of delivering the power, if it doesn't hook hard and go straight it won't matter how much power you have.
The next thing is safety, that body you've got offers no protection so at least a six point bar, harness, driveshaft loop etc.. I've been racing since the mid seventies and have seen some crazy things happen at full throttle.

 

no 350 crate motor will bet any motor with 20k invested