360 in a 5th Avenue

[5thAve]

I recently dropped a 360 into an '88 5th Ave. Runs really well. Does anyone have any suggestions for what else I could add to it performance wise over the next little while? I have the sure-grip 8 1/4 rear out of the car the engine came out of that I'll be dropping in shortly and I also plan on adding dual exhaust. I haven't been able to find headers for an M-body yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Christopher]

Headers for a Volare/Aspen car will fit.Your car is a "M" body vehicle,Volare/Aspen is a "J".Headers that will fit usually will say they fit "F-M-J" body vehicles.I don't know what you are doing with the vehicle,so it's hard to give advice.But....If it were me,I like the stock 340 cam (same as 360 4bbl)A good dual plane intake(the Edelbrock performer will let you retain the factory A/C) I personally like Holley carbs,but a good ThermoQuad or the Edelbrock carb is a good choice too.Use the Mopar ign coversion package and a good set of wires,set the timing at 35 deg. total.Make sure your new dual exhaust is at least 2 1/4 pipe,preferably with a crossover tube.I like the street hemi mufflers,but any good perf.muffler will work.I tend not to over cam with a car that's heavy like this is.You may wan't to step up to a bit hotter cam in the Mopar Perf.book,again it all depends what you wan't out of the car.

[ram50 440]

I have recently modified the 318 that was in my 87 GRAN FURY and ran into the same problem with finding headers for it. I searched everywhere for them, and the only company i found was sanderson headers. They make a set of block huggers to fit the M body. it it still a really tight fit but they work. They are a little pricey at $420 with jet hot coating, but hey they fit and look great too.

Stangkillr

[5thAve]

Thanks, both of you. A little more information about the car ane engine- the engine is out of a '79 Plymouth Caravelle, and has 122,000 original kms (about 76,000mi). The car is for street use, but I want something that can really move.

I'm keeping that info written down and I'll look into the headers. Maybe once I get using the car for a while I'll plan internal modifications like a new cam. A new intake and carb have been on my mind since day one. I'll look into both and see what I come up with.



[This message has been edited by 5thAve (edited September 04, 1999).]

[saggly]

Hey 5thave.! Great to see someone as crazy as me. Since April, I've been slowly but surely modifying my '84 fifth avenue, and I have some info you may like.

Get yourself a summit catalog, and order a set of Heddman headers to fit an 81 f-body. They'll tell you they don't fit, but speaking from experience, they do. You'll have to pull both motor mount bolts, raise the engine about 4 inches, remove the starter, (Also, remove the stud for starter mounting, and replace with a bolt), remove the steering trailing arm, and remove the exhaust manifold studs. After installation, and after everything is put back together, have someone turn the steering wheel all the way to the right. Pay specific attention to the first pipe under the trailing arm. I had to have mine bent just barely, because the last 1/4" of steering movement touched. If my motor sat down another 1/8", I would not have had to alter it. DO Not do the shifter alteration it suggests.

Next, I installed a wolverine blue racer hydraulic cam in mine. .458 lift at .284 duration. This is a bit steep for bottom end torque if you Plan on keeping the stock convertor, and have 2.22:1 gears like mine (soon to be 3.55:1), but it gets pretty awesome after about 15 mph. I also replaced the ignition system with the mopar performance set in summit, put an eldebrock performer intake on (will work with your a/c, just have to alter the metal bracket at the back!) and an eldebrock performer 600cfm carb part #1406. Believe it or not, after I quit playing with it in front of everyone all the time, It religiously gets 18 mpg city, and 20 mpg highway. Also, I did put on 2-1/4" dual exhaust with thrush california glasspacks. It sounds pretty nice.

I really hope this helps you. If you have any questions, just email me at saggly@kih.net. thanks!

[Orange Bee]

The best thing I ever did to my Hemi Orange 76 Aspen R/T was to get the "police package" cast steel replacements for the crossmember isolators! The MP folks say it's "race only" but all it does is make it drive the way it should. Mine had a 360 non-OD 4 speed, cop car suspension all around, Koni's 16x8' and 16x9" wheels from a Conquest TSI (same bolt pattern, just machine the center bores and use a 4 lug center cap) and 255/50/16 Comp T/A's. It was a real blast to drive!