Who can edumicate me on the 361 Chrysler B engine? Relative has 1 for sale with 727 trans. It originally came put of a 62 Saratoga and he freshened it up over 30 years ago and in his shop its sat since. Heads valves and seats ground, new rings and bearing, gaskets and seals. It needs a set of lifters, a carb and that's about it. Price 500 USD. Now my 55 Fargo needs either a built 265 flattie or another mill. The C series trucks came with V8s so lots of room underhood. The steering box on these is not a problem. I have no ideas if it will set nicely and not have any oil pan issues. I already have a Mopar 8 1/4 diff in truck. Anyone have gobs of experience to lay on me about 361 and 383s.
Rear sump oil pan and oil pickup tube from a 440 truck/motor home, motor mounts from a 440 truck might work, what trans are you planing to use? Some of these things might be available from Bouchillon performance. I believe the 440 was last used in motorhomes in 1979. Sounds like a fun project
The 361 is a "b " series, not an rb. That is the short deck version so none of the 426 or 440 intakes will work. It's not a power house but better than a weak engine. They are fairly heavy and there used to be a myriad of parts for them. I haven't been involved with them for more than 20 years so I'm not much help with current resources. All of the big block series have the same bell housing pattern. Some are counter balanced, some are neutral balanced.
Is the 727 from originally behind the 361? Is it an aluminum or cast iron case transmission?. The engines with the cast iron 727's used an extended crankshaft flange. I think 1962 was the changing point. Check it out before you buy it.. In order to use the extended crank engine if front of an aluminum case 727 you must change the crank.
That 62 727 transmission was pushbutton, cable shift. It would be a nightmare to source parts and install. There is a small market for them from restorers. 361 and the raised block 413 were odd ducks because of the small bore. the 383 is by far the better choice if you can find one. Transmission choice would be a 66 and later B727. Lever shift with the desirable rear slip yoke. Match the torque converter to the transmission. 62-66- 19 spline input, 67 and later 24 spline. 62= headaches 67=lots easier.
Thanx for the heads up, was tossing the older 727 trans idea around and wondered what might be different ir problematic with it. Might end up being a huge headache or boat anchor or both...lol
My 1940 Dodge has an Oz 1962 318 Poly with the cast iron Torqueflite behind it...........if the 361 is a cast iron trans than its the same as mine........mine was a push button, single cable operated trans........the trans and cable don't know how they get their commands to move the inner cable, nor do they care.............lol.......... so when I installed the 68-70 Valiant console & floor shift I measured the throw of the cable inside the gearbox after dropping the pan and after noting each measurement I then measured and compared the area underneath the console top to determine where to place a pin that the inner cable attached to and made a bracket to hold the outer cable so that the movement of the shifter forwards and back was the same as that required in the gearbox detent ..........DAH.....DAH!.........a push button gearbox without push buttons.......and of course I haven't changed the sliding plastic indicator on the console that the shifter moves so it still has "P" showing which these cast iron gearboxes don't have.......lol..........but as far as I'm concerned it works fine........well, it has done so since the mid 70's when I changed from the push buttons.........and if you have an alloy gearbox then what I've just explained is unnecessary.......lol...........BTW.......over the years I've run a 2 barrel, twin 4 barrels on a cross ram and since the late 70's a single 4 barrel carby, both big & not so big cams and the gearbox still works fine......actually it still has a hi stall converter which I had made when running a 35/75 cam, but apart from a slight delay when taking off, the gearbox is fine and parts ARE available still for them.........and I use a separate trans oil cooler and oil filter mounted under the passenger running board which helps ........ ..regards, Andy Douglas
Hey Andy, After knowing you all these years have not seen a pic of your interior on car. Now if you can move that steering wheel to the left "right" side all will be good...lol So you made the push button trans work with a normal stick......cool Im just gathering ideas for the Fargo, proĺly stick with hot 265 in the end.
Heres a couple more of the interior........the 265 with an extra carby, and extra exhaust pipe and maybe a 5speed will wake it up..........lol.............andyd
The 361 was part of the B engine series introduced in 1958. Other than a short lived 350, it was the smallest of the series. They went 361 - 383 - 400 then there was a raised deck RB 383 - 413 - 426 - 440 series. One problem with the earlier engines was the flex plate or flywheel bolted onto the crankshaft with nuts and bolts, the later ones with cap screws threaded into the crankshaft flange. So the earlier models had a crank that stuck out farther behind the block. Transmissions will not interchange. As long as it comes with a good trans you are good to go. But, all the automatics of 1962 were pushbutton type. It would be cool if you could rig up a set of pushbuttons on your truck. Not sure if you can change one to a conventional gearshift. A 361 should work great in your truck with ample power and not too brutal on gas mileage. If you were building an out and out hot rod the 383, 400 and 440 are practically the same size but in your case the little brother should be under stressed and have the lifespan of a newborn colt even if you use it to tow bulldozers over the Rocky Mountains. As far as the price goes, it is not considered a desirable engine (too small) and this one needs work so, $500 seems a little steep even with transmission. I would go over it carefully make note of what parts are missing and maybe offer $200. Depending how it was stored you will be in for at least a partial teardown and inspection, gaskets, lifters etc.
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