I'm very new,....and trying to place some posts about my van
94 ram 250 w/ 318 . Getting ready to rebuild the motor a& trans and I am trying to find some good suggestions over the next couple of months
thanks:smileup::smileup:
1st question is what's your budget? 2nd one is what do you want to accomplish?
There are LOTS of things you can do to a 318 to really "wake it up" for more power & better fuel mileage both, but the best options are expensive. Same goes for the transmission (assuming automatic), but getting an aftermarket valve body and/or shift kit isn't really all that expensive -- if you want to change the torque converter, that's a different matter.
And I always say "think system" rather than individual parts -- the best parts $$$ can buy won't do you any good if they're not designed to work together. For example, you can put 360 heads on a 318, but since the combustion chambers are larger your compression ratio will go down, so you'd need new pistons to bring it back up.
Edelbrock makes a really neat EFI system for a 318 with 360 heads which will give you a lot more power & better fuel mileage too, but it definitely ain't cheap! But if you can get away with it (inspections, emissions), a good aftermarket intake manifold & a Carter AFB 4-barrel carb will work great too & not "break the bank". Headers & a good dual exhaust system isn't all that expensive either -- unless you have to use catalytic converters (for inspections).
So you have LOTS of options & really the only limiting factors are 1) what you're willing to spend & 2) which combination of parts will work together to accomplish your goal.