318 swap

[Camelpigeon9317]

I want to know what it takes to do a 318 swap into a 1984 Dodge Ram 50 sport. With a 904 or a 727 ( is there a manual transmission I can use that is a cable driven clutch)

[Camelpigeon9317]

2wd...

[Camelpigeon9317]

318 la carbureted Don’t care about the hood

[travhous]

Well there really isn't a easy way, but the simplest way.

If you are starting a automatic truck you can start by mounting the stock trans mount to a 904. That will bolt up to the stock crossmember, speedo, driveshaft and shift linkage. That will set your 318 water pump snout even with the front radiator support, which you will have to cut out to get the engine in then fab up something to replace it. (Setting the engine this way is going to have over half the the engine in front of the tires centerline, very nose heavy)

After that you will need to cut out the motor mount towers and Fab up new ones and weld them in.

Center dump exhaust manifolds are going to be a must. There is no way around the starter and steering box for rear dump.

Custom oil pan and oil pick up tube and/or front crossmember.

Find the biggest radiator that will fit up against the grille and fab up a mount.

If your keeping the hood you will need hood pins because the hood latch would have been removed with the radiator support.

Unfortunately I don't think anyone has ever done this the same way twice. It's really just a custom thing you have to do by trial and error.
But hopefully that kind of gives the idea of the easiest way that I would know of doing. By far not the best way.

[Camelpigeon9317]

Well there really isn't a easy way, but the simplest way.

If you are starting a automatic truck you can start by mounting the stock trans mount to a 904. That will bolt up to the stock crossmember, speedo, driveshaft and shift linkage. That will set your 318 water pump snout even with the front radiator support, which you will have to cut out to get the engine in then fab up something to replace it. (Setting the engine this way is going to have over half the the engine in front of the tires centerline, very nose heavy)

After that you will need to cut out the motor mount towers and Fab up new ones and weld them in.

Center dump exhaust manifolds are going to be a must. There is no way around the starter and steering box for rear dump.

Custom oil pan and oil pick up tube and/or front crossmember.

Find the biggest radiator that will fit up against the grille and fab up a mount.

If your keeping the hood you will need hood pins because the hood latch would have been removed with the radiator support.

Unfortunately I don't think anyone has ever done this the same way twice. It's really just a custom thing you have to do by trial and error.
But hopefully that kind of gives the idea of the easiest way that I would know of doing. By far not the best way.

Is there an engine that takes less fab and make is widely available, makes power

[Camelpigeon9317]

And what would the heavy nose do?

[geezer101]

It will make the steering feel heavy and mess with the trucks weight distribution. It's going to need a suspension/spring upgrade to deal with the extra weight without making it feel like it's under steering. If there's an alloy block smaller displacement V8 option that would shed a few lbs, that would be an option.

[travhous]

It's going to need a suspension/spring upgrade to deal with the extra weight

With my 360 swap I set the engine back as far as I could and with aluminum head and relocating the battery to the back of the truck front axle weight is 1760 lbs with me in it. According to the service manual the front gross axle weight is 1810 lbs. I'm 50 lbs under gross axle weight although I'm running an entire rebuilt stock front suspension with polyurethane bushings and I feel the truck rides and drive better with the extra weight. Manual steering is a lot heavier, but not terrible.

I was lucky as I was able to retain nearly the same front/rear weight distribution as stock.

[travhous]

It's going to need a suspension/spring upgrade to deal with the extra weight

With my 360 swap I set the engine back as far as I could and with aluminum head and relocating the battery to the back of the truck front axle weight is 1760 lbs with me in it. According to the service manual the front gross axle weight is 1810 lbs. I'm 50 lbs under gross axle weight although I'm running an entire rebuilt stock front suspension with polyurethane bushings and I feel the truck rides and drive better with the extra weight. Manual steering is a lot heavier, but not terrible.

I was lucky as I was able to retain nearly the same front/rear weight distribution as stock.

[geezer101]

With my 360 swap I set the engine back as far as I could and with aluminum head and relocating the battery to the back of the truck front axle weight is 1760 lbs with me in it. According to the service manual the front gross axle weight is 1810 lbs. I'm 50 lbs under gross axle weight although I'm running an entire rebuilt stock front suspension with polyurethane bushings and I feel the truck rides and drive better with the extra weight. Manual steering is a lot heavier, but not terrible.

I was lucky as I was able to retain nearly the same front/rear weight distribution as stock.

Your truck might be the one tonne rated version which has heavier duty stabiliser bar/UCA pivot etc. The truck will probably feel more 'compliant' with the extra weight and slight change in distribution.

[travhous]

The truck will probably feel more 'compliant' with the extra weight and slight change in distribution.
I have a 84 MM with 30,000 miles so it's nice to have a direct comparison. The ride is much nicer and really don't notice much difference in the handling with the 360, really is a testament to these trucks. When I first started this build I was planing on having to do a bunch of upgrades to the suspension and brakes, but have been quite please with the stock setup. Front shocks have been upgraded to a lot stiffer compression stroke, but really that's about it. I was happy with the way the stock brakes preformed as well. I have done some upgrades, swapped out the spindles, rotors and calipers from a gen 2. I was concerned that the solid rotors would get way to hot slowing down from 100+ mph on the drag strip. I also swapped the master and booster from a 3000gt to help clean up the engine bay and get rid of the remote fluid reservoir. Also like that the master cylinder is aluminum.

[93Cobra#2771]

I did a 318/904 swap years ago on an 80model 2wd. Ended up reworking the front suspension crossmember to clear the oil pan and give room for exhaust. Modified a stock 318 manifold to clear steering box. Radiator relocated under the stock core support and replaced with one from a Buick v6. Pusher e fan installed. It worked but very tight quarters.

[Fordubishi]

I went with a 4 core Forklift rad under the header panel (18" wide 16"tall), used a Derale 14" duel speed Pusher fan (1700cfm Low speed, 2300cfm High speed) and have 2" of clearance in front of the water pump.The Engine never gets above 190degrees in traffic on a summer day in the mid 90F. on the highway it sits at 180F. I made a new latch support brace and didn't cut the top of the header. Granted I'm running a 302 but a 318/360 is about the same length.

What about a newer 5.7L Hemi as you can get a stand alone engine managment kit so you could also go with a ZF 8 speed tranny. not like there isn't a crap load of those at the junk yards.

[Can1991Ram]

If your going V8, go 360....

I started with a 318 but once we swapped in the 360 it was a word of difference. Truckweight was 2450lbs without me in it. and we ended up running 12. 20's with the stock rear axle ( welded ) and basically stock engine with a valve job and cam.

It's a total blast and worth the time.

[Baldy]

Is there an engine that takes less fab and make is widely available, makes power

The Chevy 350 small block is cheap and parts are also cheap and easy to find. It also fits in the engine bay like it was designed for it.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/baldy110/SAS%20conversion/DSCF0210.jpg (https://smg.photobucket.com/user/baldy110/media/SAS%20conversion/DSCF0210.jpg.html)

[4cylinders]

chevy smallblock is much cheaper, fits better, can make more power.
I have two with sbc.