Engine time for the old w300

One Bad Bird

One Bad Bird

Scrapping one brand X at a time
What would be the besy choice for a engine for my w300 wrecker. Right now the second 360 is slowly dieing, and my choices are to rebuild the original 360 thats laying on my garage floor, or convert to big block using a 383 or 400 that I have in other trucks. I just took over a junk yard and use the heck out of the truck and it needs to be bulit proof. The truck has always had a 360, and a 727, but was changed from 4:88 gears down to 4:10's making it gutless for pulling other big trucks.

thanks
mike
 
Myself, if I was gonna do some towing, I'd go with a big block - preferably a 440. Tons 'o torque. :)
Or, go through the 360 and add maybe a RV style cam and port work for more grunt?
 
yeah, I'd love to have a 440, but i havent found one out here yet, just 400's and 383's. The 383 and 400 that I have run well but I want what would work / hold up the best. This is the third 360 for the truck, yeah it's a 72 but it only has 140,000 miles. If i had the cash I'd go diesel but i just started the yard in june so we are running in the red still
thanks
mike
 
I gotta agree with Resto. You NEED as much torque as possible for a wrecker. How about using a 451 stroker kit in the 383? It'll be just a little bigger (internally) than the 440 and still have the added stregnth of the B blocks.
 
gomopar440 said:
I gotta agree with Resto. You NEED as much torque as possible for a wrecker. How about using a 451 stroker kit in the 383? It'll be just a little bigger (internally) than the 440 and still have the added stregnth of the B blocks.
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would the 383 be stronger than the 400 with the same stroker kit?
 
hmm 360 not up to the task?!?!?!? cam, headers, head shave.....and a converter...im betting it was guttless due to the converter
 
I can't say. I've never had a B block. I've always run 440's Beeper would be able to fill you in better on the 451's as he has one.

You could find a lot of good info (and parts) here ---> http://www.440source.com/ The tech articles are towards the bottom of the main page. Looks like the stroker kit prices have gone up since the new year though. :(

EDIT: looks like the 451 kit is for the 400 block. I told ya I don't know those B engines very well... It looks like the biggest stroker kits they have are the 512 kit (400 block) or the 496 kit (383 block). Either way, the kits are all the same price whichever size you pick.
 
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For a heavy truck I'd go with a big block. Building a 451 don't come cheap and will give all the power you would ever need for your application. But either the 383 or 400 can produce good pulling torque with some basic hot rodding tricks. All depends on your budget.
 
Either the 383 or the 400 will probably do it. I'd go with the 400 because it's bigger. No reason to settle for fewer cubic inches if you're gonna convert to a big block.

In terms of block strength, the bottom end of the 400 is unquestionably stronger, though you'll never even vaguely threaten the strength of either with a low rpm low power application like what you're talking about. (for proof on my claim about the 400 being stronger, go to http://www.440source.com/blockinfo.htm and read about it, complete with pictures.)

Of course, the diesel option is hands-down the best. The torque output (especially at low rpm) is SO much higher than a gas burner that it's silly. My internally stock dually made 920 ft/lbs AT THE WHEELS at 2200 rpm. You will not get a big block to do that. If you're towing much more distance than just around the yard, the increased fuel mileage of the diesel might well pay for itself and then some. In fact, if you REALLY want to get jiggy with it, you could put in an old 5.9 cummins 12v and run it mostly on filtered waste motor oil. That'll REALLY put the kabash on the dumb shit with fuel costs. I know from personal experience that this works-I've done it in my '98 12v dually.
 
I agree v8, I converted my 85 d300 crew cab 360/727 to 91 cummins 4x4 with a 2002 nv4500 and I love it. The crew cab was gutless and got 11 mpg now it has more b---s than the 360 ever thought it had and gets 21mpg. In hind sight I wish I would have put the engine in the wrecker but I didn't have the junk yard at the time, and I need the crew cab to hall scrap. The problem with converting it right now is first I don't have a doner truck, and second I need to have it done in a weekend. I thought about just building anouther truck and finding a bed, but the beds are expensive too, and we are not makin the money yet. Basicly I work a full time job to suport my yard right now LOL My wife works in the office and I try to get everything i need done after work and weekends.
 
I understand about not making the money yet-I'm the assistant manager at a new pull-a-part in Montgomery, AL. We've been open for over a month and haven't made money yet. They also haven't advertised yet, but they're gonna do that this month. Hopefully that'll bring a bunch more people in.
 
69.5CUDA said:
got any "good" 360's you can just drop in it for now till you can convert to the big D?
Click to expand...

yeah, but the last good one only lasted a year before it started begging for mercy. I don't know if I did something wrong or if it was just screwed up from the beginning but it seemed to run well when it was in the 85 crew cab. I put it in the wrecker and i when down hill quick

also it only got 6-7 mpg empty, but got 11-12 in the other truck
Now it gets 4-5 empty:confused: , so I gotta do somthing quick because nowdays you need to take out a personal loan to fill it.
 
i was just thinking cost wise it might be best to just dump something you have laying around into it as a temp untill you can get your hands on a big D to drop in or the buisness realy starts to improve and warrents doing an actual build of a "new" engine...i still think youd be best off finding a wrecked big D
 
yeah, I think your right, I think I'll dump anouther smallblock in it for now while I take one of the club cabs I have in the yard and start building my new wrecker.
 
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