Full Size Jeep Network

So I'm finally getting serious about having my 360 rebuilt. Parts I have ordered and received already: edelbrock intake manifod, DUI ignition and wires, hedman headers, holley 4160 carb, flowkooler water pump, powermaster alternator, Alloyworks radiator with fans (kept getting ads about it so decided to give it a shot).
Wanted to see thoughts on what cam and pistons to use for this project. I'm mainly going to be using it for the street and some light 4x4 for camping (mostly desert, but hopefully some forest).
Thanks in advance.

What transmission, tire size and gears?

All stock. TH400, 31" tires for now. Planning on a 4-6" lift with 33's or 35's in the future. Not sure what the gearing is.

why_rick wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 3:33 pm Not sure what the gearing is.

Check the tag on the differential cover, could be a 3.54

You can use this site to help you figure out where you want to go on the gearing and all. http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

On my 401 build the guy that did it, put in a SUM 8601 cam with Wiesco pistons and said that he uses others also but this one is great for most of his builds for 400 to 425 HP @ 9.5:1 builds, will run on pump gas. I also have the Edelbrock heads with Harland Sharp roller rockers and Pro Flow 4 on this. I'm not a gear head that's as knowledgeable as most here, but I know you will get some great advice from the guys here.

letank wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 3:57 pm

why_rick wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 3:33 pm Not sure what the gearing is.

Check the tag on the differential cover, could be a 3.54

The '77 TSM says 3.54:1 standard, 4.09:1 optional for the model 17 in '77. If you had 4.09s you'd likely know it.

A 4160 will be a disaster on the trail without extensive modification. Cuts out on bumps, side hill and on specific up-down grades will refuse to run. Even when modified, not that good. Works great on the street. Well documented if you search. BTDT. If you could afford it, I'd suggest one of the several EFI setups available today. Better drivability and performance than any carburetor. Covered in other threads, or ask for advice in an appropriately titled thread.

33s should be ok with no lift. 4-6" is an aggressive lift; you may not like how far in the air it is, and IMO won't help on the trail much. And it will clobber fuel economy, such as it is, and handling on pavement. Considering your described use. And 33s will work better with 3.54s. JMO.

Definitely interested in knowing what pistons you do go with. I too have to rebuild my engine and have been trying to figure out what pistons to use as well. I have read the following post many many times and like the idea of the flattop pistons (if they can still be found) The post below may definitely be worth a read to help you decide on pistons. (just ignore the 2 pages of people not understanding the issue with the badger pistons)

https://forums.ifsja.org/forum/tire-kic ... s?t=177234

From that forum post, I also gather that what pistons are used to get to your desired compression ratio also depends on the combustion chamber volume. From that post the options are:
51cc - 1970 & early 1971 #3196291C
58cc ? 1971 through 1974 #3212993, #3213948, #3220502
60cc ? 1975 through 1977 #3220503
63cc ? 1978 and up.

Jevman, do you know what part number those Wiesco pistons are? I see it is the Edelbrock heads which are 54 cc If I recall correctly? That should make it easy to get 9.5:1 even with a dished piston.

*edited to correct error regarding Jevman's cylinder head question.

Good luck and please update the post with what you do.

My first plan for a carb was to go with an edelbrock 1406 but Dan at AZ AMC Restorations recommended the Holley 600. Would love to do an EFI kit but it isn’t in the budget at this time. That’ll be something to save for.

I expect you will be happy with the 4160 if you stay on the street. IME the Holleys are easy to work on and tune. Also my experience - they flood out when bounced, and flood out on hills. Badly. I kinda think you'd be better off with the TA than the 4160, though the TA supposedly has some drivability issues on the street. No personal experience with the TA. How much experience does Dan have with Jeeps that go off-road?

This thread is about the 2300 https://www.binderplanet.com/forums/ind ... ons.30167/ but that's basically the 4160 as a 2V (2-barrel). The 2300 comes with a center-pivot float, and the 4160's side pivot float seems likely to be worse on side-hill. Don't think it will matter to flooding/surging when bounced or uphill/downhill.

Here's another link - https://classicbroncos.com/tech/offroad ... rrel-carbs - this is just the first two articles for this search https://www.bing.com/search?q=Holley+41 ... ifications - I presume there are lots of articles about this, because these carbs have problems on the trail. Also matches my experience with these carbs.

tgreese, I'm not sure how much experience Dan has. He had replied on a FB group about oiling and I messaged him with what my plan was and he recommended the carb.
I appreciate all the input from you guys. You're much more gear heads than I am. I'm still learning all this stuff. I also haven't met with the engine builder yet to see what he will recommend as far as cam, pistons, and the rest.

Reading your responses you are more interested in a torquey cam than a high horsepower cam. You'll want it in the lower RPM ranges. This is good because it's cheaper to build if you are not shooting for big horse power and higher RPMs.

I run a holley Truck Avenger on my rig. I take it off road A LOT. It does great on hills, tilts and bumps. I can't remember the last time it stalled on the trail.

As for camshaft, I used the MTA-1 found on ebay, because cannot be bought from regular vendor as California has all sort of no no for aftermarket.

Here were the specs of various camshaft and my worksheet
I had ordered an edelbrock sold at summit under K8600 but the bearing surfaces were rusty -surface rust- and I returned it

And here are the specs of various camshaft -don't ask too many questions, total noob on camshaft, followed a few tutorials on youtube... and it took some time to degree the cam.

I agree with “Will E” on using the Holley Truck Avenger carb for off-road use. I’ve used a couple of them with good all around results.