Carb Question on 1988 w150 318

[BurrowsRacing33]

I have a 1988 dodge w150 pickup with a 318 in it and I am looking to take the 2 barrel carb off and put a 4 barrel on but the 2 barrel has so many wires that plug into it and I haven't been able to find a 4 barrel with similar plug ins any ideas on a 4 barrel carb that will work?

 

[crazzywolfie]

your truck should be TBI which is pretty much a fuel injected carb. you won't find a 4 barrel carb with any of those plugs. if you wanted to swap to carb you would have to spend at least $300 on wiring plus whatever it would cost for the carb you want and possibly a intake if you choose to go with a 4 barrel.

 

[BurrowsRacing33]

Thanks for your help but sadly I bought a 4 barrel intake already but luckly not a carb yet, I went to my local parts store and they told me that I could just use a carb with an electric choke and that it would work but the check engine light would be on because of the missing plug ins. Well now that I have an intake..... Does it hurt performance at all using a 4 barrel to 2 barrel carb adapter?

 

[PCA4208]

Yes, a 2-4 barrel adapter will hurt performance. The 318 manifolds do not flow well enough for a 4 barrel. Your best bet is to do the whole thing, manifold, carb and all.

 

[crazzywolfie]

sounds like the guys at your local parts store don't know what they are talking about. to put a carb on your truck you would have to swap in a older style ignition system because the one that is on there would most likely quit working once you disconnect the throttle body.

are you thinking of putting the throttle body on the 4 barrel intake? if so that would just be a waste of time and money. also as far as carbs go you should find yourself a carb that is smaller than 500cfm. a 500cfm carb is a bit too large for a 318 but the next smallest carb is a 390cfm holley which are about $400 brand new. if you can get a 390cfm holley that would be about the perfect carb for a 318.

 

[BurrowsRacing33]

yes i was talking about putting the throttle body on the 4 barrel intake using one of them 4 to 2 barrel adapters only bcuz when i got home from the parts store i went online and was looking at intakes and found a good deal on ebay and bought it but i was kind of questioning them myself so i decided to post on here before i bought the carb too and i guess they were wrong but i bought the intake already....this ****** me off I wish I could send them the bill for the intake. Well now I know before I do anything to it that im not sure about to ask the pros first Basically all i was trying to do was get more horse power out of it without spending a ton of money i was going to put a cam kit in it but the local parts store also told me that i need to upgrade my fuel system b4 i could put a cam in it. Im only 15 working at my local auto body garage trying to put my first truck together so I have some money to spend but not huge amounts but I also drive a race car so the need for speed is there but the 318 is... just numb.. i stomp on that thing and there is like zero get up and go. NEEDS MORE HORSEPOWER! ideas?

 

[crazzywolfie]

well there is not any performance gain from putting the intake on. i think you just need to keep saving up your money. then do a whole bunch of upgrades at once. could possibly drop a fuel injected 318 magnum in it. it is a fairly nice upgrade power wise. i know on a wet day the fuel injected magnum 318 in my 93 has no problem getting the tires to spin at 30mph when i put the skinny peddle to the floor and as far as i know my engine is stock. they make quite a few aftermarket parts for those engines and keeping it fuel injected would give you the nice instant power.

 

[PCA4208]

If you can find a good 360 builder you can easily get 380hp and 400tq out of it from just a cam, four barrel, and some port work on the heads. Those are real potent motors. Same with the 318 with the same mods.

 

[BurrowsRacing33]

I knew there wasnt any gain from putting the intake on its just that i bought it already thanks to the local parts store telling me the wrong stuff so i was just saying that id put it on bcuz i have it, anyways how hard is it to swap over to a 360 magnum? I would need to rewire it completely right? Would I need a tranny too? My local junk yard only charges $350 for motors and 300 for trannys. So depending on how hard the swap is that might interest me.

 

[crazzywolfie]

well if you can find a 360 and trans out of a 93-95 dodge ram or van that would be the best way to go. then you would get a 46RH transmission which has overdrive and should make a huge difference as far as gas mileage goes. you would just have to make sure to get the computer and harness and make it clear to tell the junkyard that you want them in tacked or they will butcher it getting the engine out.

now you can use the 360 with the stock transmission but i think you will need a different torque converter and to notch a hole in the bell housing for the crank position sensor

 

[Nabby]

Are you sure about the years on that tranny? I have a 91 D150 that has overdrive, which I would assume would make it a 46RH, as opposed to the non-OD a518.

 

[crazzywolfie]

well in the early years they had a a500 and a518 which both had overdrive but the a500 was a weaker transmission. now the only reason i suggest getting one out of a 93-95 is the later tranmissions got a few other upgrades and they would already be bolted to a multi port fuel injected magnum engine which would be a pretty good upgrade as far as power goes.