The sad fact is I can do 4 or 5 suspension installation and review stories, a few tire reviews, and maybe a couple theory pieces in the time it takes to do one engine build story. Still, you guys want an AMC engine buildup so I started thinking about it.

The little 304 in my Commando can chirp the rear tires even with the stock cam and 2bbl. However, that's really not gonna do it for me, so I think you all can look forward to a moderate (nothing crazy) 360 buildup. Yeah, I can make more power with a 401, but good luck finding one. It's way more mainstream to do up a 360 since any junkyard in the country is gonna be littered with them.

Ideally I'd love to do the story in stages. The first part would be a dead-stock rebuild of an AMC 360. Well, maybe I'd bump the compression up a bit with some 9.5:1 pistons. That much you can bet on. I'd dyno it with a stock replacement cam and an Edelbrock Performer manifold. Then I'd slap in a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy stick and dyno it again to see what that does. Then the Performer would give way to a Performer RPM. I don't think the RPM would lose any down low and the top end would really take off.

I'd top the whole thing off by finally replacing the stock cast iron heads with some excellent-flowing Edelbrock aluminum jobbies. I bet with the Edelbrock heads, Performer RPM intake, and a moderate Comp Cams that'd work well with an automatic transmission that "little" 360 would churn out at least 425hp and gobs of gooey, greasy torque.

Maybe we'll eventually see. A story like that would answer the most questions and would make the best read. Hopefully I can find a way to pay for that much dyno time. It ain't cheap or easy so we'll see.