304 to 360? RV Cam?

I appreciate all's help on my ongoing fix-up project. I am currently investigating rebuild possibilities and have found out I can actually upgrade to a rebuilt 360, for less then a rebuilt 304. Are these exactly interchangible? Will my headers stil line up? Trans. bolt up? Is a 360 to much power for a cj-5? I can also upgrade to a RV cam. Should I consider an RV cam, even though the 360 has more torque? Thanks

 

Both the 360 and 401 are bolt-in replacements for the 304. If the 360 or 401 engine came from a vehicle with an automatic (as most did), you must use the correct 360 or 401 flywheel since they are externally balanced. You may find some minor differences over the years of production like size of the manifold and accessory bolts. Your headers and transmission will fit the same. The 360 responds very well to a hotter cam, aftermarket manifold and carburetor.

Whether its too much engine or not depends on you. The 304 is enough power to twist axles and break gears ... the 360 or 401 are just moreso.

 

I'd be more inclined to go with a stock or really mild aftermarket cam in a CJ with a 360. The K8600 cam from Summit is the least expensive aftermarket option that I know of ($80 cam and lifters http://store.summitracing.com/defau...4294861490+4294906974+4294840106&autoview=sku ) but it may not work so well in a CJ especially with big tires, 3.73 gears and a Dana 20. If it were mine, I'd go for all the low end power that I could get, with something like the 10-200-4 Comp Cams http://www.compcams.com/Technical/CurrentCatalog/HTML/20-25.asp
If you have to pay extra for the cam, maybe you want to go with a stock cam since that will probably give you the best performance at lowest RPMs, ie just off idle. Compare the duration, since the usual tradeoff is a longer duration gives you more power at higher RPM, but a shorter duration gives more power at low RPM due to the more precise timing of the valve opening wrt the cylinder position.