Hello, I am new to this forum but not new to mopars, I have an 85 Dodge Power Ram 150 with a LA 360 and a 4 speed manual , has 140,000 kms on her and has a Comp Cams XE262H cam and Comp Springs, I want to plug the heads (smog heads) add headers and tunnel ram it with holleys, All the smog stuff will be removed and im trying to figure out what kind of power ill be putting out, and instead of building it and finding out id rather ask if anyone has a set up similar and what kind of power you have. This is a mud truck that has 35"s and a 6 inch lift i need more power to get er through the muck Thanks!

 

What kind of gears do you have? 35s and a 6" lift would probably do well with some 4.56s.

 

I have no idea, I know its a 12 bolt rear with posi, has a tag but makes no sense to me, says 3.455
Would it be a 3.45:5?

 

Negative. That would mean you've got 3.45:1 gears. If it was 3.45:5 then that means you'd have .691:1 which would be horrible. Do you have a 4x4? And do you drive on the highway much?

 

Its a 4x4, and it dont see the highway much but i do have to sometimes, it has the granny low 4 speed

 

Well I can imagine that those 3.45s paired with your 35s are putting a bit of strain on your transmission. Upgrading gears alone can make your truck feel like a whole new beast, however, if you have a 4x4 then you need to regear the front differential as well as the back differential or you will destroy your transfer case as soon as you hit the gas in 4WD. 4x4s are a bit pricey to regear too, but you should really look into it if you're trying to have a mud pit monster.

 

So if i had to regear my front axle what should i go with? right now it says 3.23

 

Something isn't adding up. Differentials aren't my area of expertise, hopefully someone with a greater knowledge can chime in soon and help get things straightened out.

As far as I know the front and the rear should have the same ratio. Now I don't know if different housing sizes can change that or not, but I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with the ratio. Either way, the gears in the diff should still have the same rotation:axle rotation regardless of the housing size.

 

And this is what confused me as well, in my head i as well figured the gear ratios should be the same, and according to the tags these are my gears, i have never opened them up to look, but the 4 wheel drive works great never had an issue. I am no expert in this myself and i appreciate all the help

 

I have a Weiand tunnel ram and two holley carbs, the cam is a XE262H and the specs are
INT EXT
262 270
DUR@ .050 218 224
LIFT .462 .470

Is this a good setup for a 360?