I just recently did a V6-318 swap, which was a nightmare by the way, on my 98 1500. Much better than the V6. I had the 318 completly rebuilt with a bigger computer friendly cam and also balanced. But I'm kinda greedy and want more power! Been thinking lately of putting on some performance heads and intake. As for the heads, I cant decide between Engine Quest's magnum replacements or Edelbrock Preformer RPM heads. Which is better? The intake will probably be the Mopar M1 intake. But im not sure if there are any better intakes than this. Are there? Another kinda off topic question, but are there any shift kits that can be installed to make the transmission perform better? Mine is starting to run rather ragged. One more thing, i still have the tranny that was on the V6. Should i just buy a new transmission or try and have this one rebuilt? Thanks ahead of time for all the help!
Performance Heads, Intake, and Transmission?
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The edelbrocks I think are better, but you are going to want to raise compression or run hotter plugs or a hotter thermostat because those heads are aluminum.
As for the transmission, you should just rebuild it if it works. If it's a 46 series it will perform fine after a good rebuild. Oh, I rebuild these and I do not recommend shift kits. I just recommend you do a good rebuild and replace the manual valve, pressure regulator valve, and shuttle valve with sonnax replacements. also replace the front servo assembly and accumulator. add an external cooler also.
quite honestly, those edelbrock heads are very expensive.
anyways, this is just my 2 cents.
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The EQ heads are a good bang for buck, and are thick enough to do some porting.
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There is no reason necessary to change anything because of the material of the head, which is alloy, not aluminum.
While it's true alloy heads can handle slightly more compression due to material, most improvements are due to combustion chamber refinements.
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All good ideas, but I'm curious as to why you went with a short stroke 318 in a heavy truck instead of starting out with a 360 (longer stroke, more displacement, better truck engine)?
The Edelbrock heads are alloy.....aluminum alloy. The reason to increase the compression is to take advantage of the greater heat dissipation rate of aluminum, but it is not necessary. You can play that advantage another way to even greater effect. Get a custom tune. The aluminum heads will dissipate heat faster, thus allowing for more ignition timing, and a quicker ignition advance for a given octane fuel. This gives more usable power. Or, leave it alone, run regular gas and be happy. I like the Stage II Fairbanks kit for the transmission, but the kits from TransGo, Superior, Sonnax, B&M, etc, are all basically the same.
Thank for all the replies guys! Think im going to go with the EQ heads and a simple rebuild on the tranny. Noticed that nobody had anything to say about the intake. Is the Mopar M1 the best bang for my buck or is there a better option? As for me doing all this with a 318 instead of 360, the parts truck I had was a 318 so thats what I used. Simply as that. Thanks again guys.
The M1 is pretty much the only game in town. The only option I know of is the Hughes/Edelbrock RPM AirGap for Magnum. Being adapted from a true dual-plane manifold, it does offer great low and mid-range torque while maintaining top-end power. I want one! Price is an issue. Granted the M1 packages can get pricey too, but they're pretty much a bolt-in replacement. The Hughes package requires more work (well worth it) and has the included hardware, hence the kit cost.
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