shoot my 318 will spin the tires on dry pavement for 3 blocks...

 

i wish that was true. my truck had TBI and 3.55 gears but no posi.

the power to weight ratio on a dakota is greater than a full size ram.

 

Like yours carl my truck was very sluggish up until last week. My nephews description was as if the truck was pulling a 5000lb trailer. couldnt get it to spin on dish soap it was so bad. I tinkered with the timing and advanced it just a tiny bit and its like driving a different truck. Now it takes very little throttle to get it to scratch off. and have to be very careful in the rain, it has good tread on the tires too. I didnt adjust the timing the proper way with a light or anything just the old hand and ear method.

 

Just timed mine. It was a bit off but I really didn't gain much.

 

I have a 84 prospector 318 2brl carb, with 31" tires and I roast em just for fun. there is nothing special about my truck, was grandpa's ride... was gutless when i got it. I put in new plugs, wires, dist cap and rotor. adjusted my timing a bit and boom. its not fast or powerful by any means but turnin onto the highway today I left a trail of smoke from the rubber no problem at all....... It is amazing what a little tlc will do for your vehicle. and make sure to properly gap your plugs. another little thing you can do is jack up your idle a bit.

 

I cant spin my dodge either. It has fairly good acceleration but from a stop I can floor it and no spinning. ........

1991 d150 318.

 

There's a lot of different things it could be. The timing is something I would look into first. I had a 318 (switched to a 360 eventually) and it had plenty of pep, I could spin the tires on turns easily, not necessarily a dead stop though (unless you did a brake stand or some other such tomfoolery). I had a good transmission shop that serviced it and they always seemed to be able to get it to shift really nicely for me (automatic). In other words, the kick down linkage/setting is something else to look into. A decent trany shop should be able to look at it for cheap if that's not your area of expertise. I'm leaning away from your inkling on the gear ratios, that would be a last resort for me. It would suck if you went to all that trouble, still got nothing out of it, only to find you needed new spark plugs and wires or something.

As previously stated, it would be a good thing to know what you're working with (gear ratios, has anything been swapped out/upgraded/downgraded, etc.)

 

I did a tune up on my 1991 d150 318. Plugs wires cap and rotor. The plugs were worn down, cap was nasty and the rotor wasn't all that good. Seems more responsive. Easily squeals on corners, but thats it.