CJ-7 Projects
 

  

Lightforce Lights - H.I.D. High-intensity discharge Upgrade

HEI Ignition System (GM Style) Installed in the AMC 360 V8
Getting rid of gremlins and improving performance

Installing 23,000 Volt Offroad Lights

Autogage Tachometer Installation
  

 Home Page
 Photo Album
 Product Reviews
 Cool Products
 Tech Section
 Readers Rigs
 4x4 Club Links
 Links Directory
 Shop Offroaders
 Centralia PA
 Contact
 Search
Project CJ-7
  
Offroaders Guide
to Gearing up
for Offroad

From Basic Equipment to Well Equipped.  An extensive list guide to help you prepare your vehicle for the offroad.
  
 

  

Onboard Air
Converting a York
AC Compressor
to Pump Air


Trailering Safety and Trailer Hitch Information

 

Off-Road Truck Driving Techniques and Safety



Off-Road Lights
by LightForce Product Review / Installation.
from Off-Road Lights

 

Jeep Dana 300 TeraLow - 4:1 Gearset for the Dana 300 Transfer Case


AMC V8 Engines
From
GEN-1 Nash/Hudson/Rambler V-8s (1956-1966) through to the GEN-3 AMC Tall-deck (1970-1991)

Chevy Small-Block V8 Engines
Chevy Small-Block V8 Engines Manufactured by General Motors - Production: 1955?2002

Hemi Engine - All about the Hemi Engine

Ford Engines
4 Cylinder, 6 Cylinder, 8 Cylinder, 10 Cylinder, 12 Cylinder Ford Engines

Ford V8 Engines
8 Cylinder Engines manufactured by Ford

Ford 351 Cleveland V8 Engines
351 cubic inch V8 Engines manufactured by Ford

Chrysler Hemi Engine

AMC V8 hp/Torque, Compression & Bore/Stroke by year

Engine Size Conversion Table
Converting engine displacement from CID, Liters, C.C.

Engine Overheating Basics - 16 Common Causes of an Overheated Engine

Fan Clutch Diagnosis
How to tell if the Fan Clutch in your Cooling System is failing or has failed.

Automotive Gauges & Instrument Functions
Information they display & their importance.

 

From the
Department of Cheap   Tricks and Useful Tips

  
Ultra-Cool Hand Throttle for Free!

Jeep V8 Swap Tips

The Exploding Clutch

Radiator Protection using 6 bucks worth of material

Cracked Under Pressure - Fixing a smashed fingernail

A Cheap, effective alternative to undercoating

Home-built Saginaw Gearbox Brace for the cost of lunch!

Ammo Box Storage - Mounting Them for Quick Disconnect

Home-built Serious Skid-Plate protection for the Oil Pan for under 20 bucks!

Ramp Travel Index
RTI / Ramp Travel Index  What it is and how to calculate it, with and without the ramp.
 

 

 

 

 

AMC V8 Engine Info

Back to Project Index

Project
Jeep CJ-7
  

 

AMC
'Small Block'
V8 Engines

AMC Small Block Background

The AMC small block was first introduced in 1966. All six engine sizes (290 304 343 360 390 401) share the same basic block design. The different displacements are achieved by different bore and stroke combinations. All blocks share the same external measurements and thus can be swapped easily. Contrary to a popular myth the AMC V8's were not made by Ford or anyone else. They did make use of some Motorola electrical parts (Alternator, Starter etc) like the Fords, but the engine itself is all AMC. 

1966-1969 (290, 343, 390)

The AMC small block was first introduced as a 290 in 1966. The 343 came out in 1967 and the "AMX 390" arrived in 1968. These engine blocks were unchanged until the end of 69. In addition to the largest bore and stroke, the 390 motor also got heavier main bearing support webbing and a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods. The head used during this time, are the so called rectangle port heads, named after their exhaust port shape. The 290 heads use smaller valves (1.787 intake, 1.406 exhaust) in order to prevent problems with the small bore. the 343 and 390 used the SAME, larger valve head (2.025 intake, 1.625 exhaust). You can swap the large valve heads onto a 290 but will need to notch the top of the cylinder bore to prevent the valves hitting, and will probably need different pistons as well. I don't think it's worth it though, the 290 works better with the smaller valves. The large valves are so close to the cylinder wall (on a 290)that they are shrouded by it and will actually flow LESS than the smaller valves. 
1970 and Later (304, 360, 390, 401)

In 1970 all three blocks grew in deck height and the strokes were increased on the 290 and 343. The 290 became the 304, and the 343 became the 360. For some reason, however, the 390 remained a 390 in 1970. It wasn't until 71 that the 390 was stroked to the 401. Like the 390, the 401's crankshaft and connecting rods are forged steel. The other change in 70 was the switch to the dog leg heads (again named after the exhaust port shape). These heads are reported to flow 50% better on the exhaust side than the rectangle port heads and are thus the best for performance. There are two reasons for the flow increase. Firstly the area of the port is larger, due to the dog leg. Secondly the shape of the port floor was changed from a concave to a convex curve. The concave floor tended to bend the exhaust flow upwards which caused turbulence when the flow was forced to go down into the exhaust manifolds. By switching to a concave floor the curvature of the flow starts in the head and proceeds much more smoothly into the exhaust manifold resulting in less turbulence and better flow. As before there were two versions, a small valve one for the 304 and a large valve one for the 360/390/401. Again, like the 290, unless you have an extremely radical 304, you're probably best to stick with the small valve head on the 304. The late model 304 head is a good option for the early 290's but there are a few other things to consider, which are discussed later. 

Production Changes

Heads

Throughout the lives of the heads there have been some changes made, mostly exact valve sizes, and chamber volumes. In general the 70 and earlier heads have about 51cc chambers and run around 10.2:1 compression. Some of the early (pre 68) heads had 53-54 cc chambers for 9:1, the later heads (71 and up) had about 58cc, which gave 8.0-8.5:1 ratio's when combined with the dished pistons used at the time. Using these late heads with the earlier flat top pistons will result in a compression ratio of about 9.5:1. In addition to chamber and compression ratio's some small changes in valve size were made. For example the exhaust went from 1.625 to 1.68 in the early 70's. These changes in valve size are pretty subtle and most drivers would never notice them. In any event you can get your heads machined to take the larger valves if you want, there's plenty of room to do it. You can even put the 343/360/390/401 valves in the 290/304 heads, although this is a bit risky as the castings are a bit thinner on the small valve heads and you run the risk of cracking a head if you open it up too much. 

Rocker Arm Assembly

A minor change was made to the rocker arm assembly in 1973. Earlier heads used a round rocker arm pivot. This allowed the rocker some freedom to rotate. The rotation was limited by the width of the push rod slot. Later rocker arms used a cylindrical pivot. This pivot has a bridge which joins the intake and exhaust together maintaining proper alignment. 

Swapping Heads

You can swap heads around pretty easily between these different engines. The 343 heads swap with the 68/69 390 heads, the 70-390, 360, and 401 heads swap. If you want to swap across the 1970 deck height change, you have to watch two things. The early block used 7/16 head bolts where the later used 1/2, and the center intake manifold bolts were re-located. To swap the late heads to a early engine you need a step dowel to ensure the heads are centered properly and you need to file the center manifold bolt holes to re-align the holes. Note that you can't escape the filing by swapping the late manifold onto the early engine because of the deck height difference. To swap a late model intake onto an early block you need to have the gasket face of the manifold machined down to compensate for the different deck height. 

 

Project Jeep CJ-7 

AMC V8 Engine Info

Back to Project Index

 

  

 

Offroad Tire Info
Tire Terminology
Wheel Terminology
How to Pick the Right
Tires for your Truck
Truck Tire Info
Tires - What Hits What Fits
 
All Terrain  Mud Terrain
Tire Reviews & Info
Mud Terrain MT Tire Reviews
All Terrain AT Tire Reviews
Super Swamper Bogger
Super Swamper SSR
Super Swamper SX
Super Swamper Vortrac
Interco IROK TSL
Super Swamper LTB
Super Swamper TSL
Super Swamper TSL Radial
Super Swamper Narrow
Interco SS-M16 Swamper
Thornbird TSl Radial
Thornbird TSl Bias
Thornbird TSL
Parnelli Jone Dirt Grip
BFGoodrich Krawler
BFGoodrich MT T/A KM
BFGoodrich MT T/A KM2
BFGoodrich AT TA KO
BFGoodrich Mud King XT
Bridgestone Dueler MT
Cooper Discoverer ST
Cooper Discoverer STT
Cooper Discoverer ST/C
Firestone Destination MT
General Grabber MT
General Grabber AT2
Green Diamond Icelander
Ground Hawg Mud Tire
Hankook Dynapro MT
Hankook Dynamic MT RT01
Hercules Terra Trac MT
Hercules Trail Digger MT
Kelly-Springfield Safari DTR
Kelly-Springfield Safari MSR
Kumho Road Venture MT
Kumho Road Venture KL71
Kumho Road Venture AT
Dick Cepek Mud Country
Dick Cepek F-C II
Dick Cepek Fun Country II
Dick Cepek Fun Country Nylon
Dick Cepek Fun Country Kevlar
Mastercraft Courser MT
Mastercraft Courser HTR
Mastercraft Courser HTR Plus
Maxxis BigHorn Radial
Maxxis Creepy Crawler
Maxxis Trepador
Maxxis Buckshot Mudder
Maxxis MA-SW
Maxxis M-8080 Mudzilla
Maxxis MT-754 Buckshot
Maxxis MT-753 Bravo
Maxxis MA-751 Bravo
Maxxis MA-S2 Marauder II
Maxxis MA-S1 Marauder
Maxxis MT-762 BigHorn
Nitto Mud Grappler
Nitto Dune Grappler
Nokian Vatiiva MT
Pit Bull Rocker Extreme
Pit Bull Maddog
Pit Bull Growler
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R
Pro Comp Xterrain
Pro Comp All Terrain
Pro Comp Mud Terrain
Pro Comp Xtreme AT
Pro Comp Xtreme MT
Toyo Open Country MT
TrXus Mud Terrain
TrXus STS All Terrain
Mickey Thompson MTZ
Mickey Thompson MTX
Mickey Thompson Baja Claw
Mickey Thompson Baja Crusher
Competition Claw
Dunlop Mud Rover
Yokohama Geolandar
  

Latest trips Offroad
... trail reports with the Project CJ-7
click here.

Sounds System, Raised the Rear Seat
Storage below and a great place to mount 6x9 Speakers for Great Bass ... In a Jeep!

York AC Compressor Conversion.  What used to pump Freon, now pumps compressed air to the front and rear bumpers.  125 psi,  2 gallons of storage, air fittings at the bumpers, enough CFM to power air tools!.  Click Here for more  Details

 

Dick Cepek's 2008 F-250 Super Duty Project Vehicle ? Project CRUSHER


Warn X8000i
Winch Installation


ARB Air Locker Install
Jeep Wide Track Axles Swap

 
Mud Tire Reviews

Building a Garage?
Need a Garage Plan?
 


Reader's Rigs and Seriously Stucks!

 

Jeep Trans Swap Info
T-18A Transmission Rebuild & Short Shaft Conversion