Looking at 1981 Dodge Ram, what to look for?
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 365
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From: MA
Looking at 1981 Dodge Ram, what to look for?
The owner says there is a little rust on the fender corners and the cab corners. Bed/floors/everything else is OK.
It has the 318 2bbl, which runs great but hesitates when cold. He says it needs a carb rebuild (I'll ditch the 2bbl anyways!)
It is an automatic. What tranny is that?
It is a 4x4, but he says the front driveshaft doesn't spin, even though it sounds like it engages. I thought broken chain, but I was told it was gear drive in 1981. Could it be linkage?
Anything else I should know or look for?
Thanks!
It has the 318 2bbl, which runs great but hesitates when cold. He says it needs a carb rebuild (I'll ditch the 2bbl anyways!)
It is an automatic. What tranny is that?
It is a 4x4, but he says the front driveshaft doesn't spin, even though it sounds like it engages. I thought broken chain, but I was told it was gear drive in 1981. Could it be linkage?
Anything else I should know or look for?
Thanks!
Champion
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,710
Likes: 2
From: Skagit County, WA
RE: Looking at 1981 Dodge Ram, what to look for?
The auto is a Torqueflight A727. It's a hearty tranny. Mine made it about 240,000 before I blew it up - 7000 lbs of dirt in the bed plus a ~5000+ lb trailer did it in.
The Ramchargers and probably 1/2 ton trucks have a lighter duty setup though, with smooth shifting. If you get it rebuilt, ask them to do whatever it is they have to do to bring it to HD specs.
Not sure which t-case came in the 81's. Crawl under and look for the round New Process tag, it should be a 203, 205, or 208. iirc 203 is iron case used in the way old ones, 205 is aluminum case gear driven but with a crappy low range, and 208 is a chain driven aluminum case with the better low range ratio.
I'd take it to a reputable tranny shop and have them take a look at the linkage to see if it's shifting properly, good shops will peek at it and let you know for free. Otherwise it may very well be an internal problem, and you could be looking at hundreds for repairs.
As far as the engine goes, the 318 is a decent motor, but the 360 is better and easy to swap in. The heads suck. Plain and simple. With stock heads, mild cam, intake, carb, headers, etc. you can expect to make about 180hp at the tires and 250 lb-ft or so, again at the tires.* Before you start tossing money at the 318 for an intake manifold and carb, you might consider swapping in a Magnum 360 from a wrecking yard. The intake manifold is a little bit different (but old ones will work, you just have to modify slightly) so it'll save you from the hassle. The magnum heads are a lot better, plus they use a 1.6:1 rocker instead of 1.5 like the older LA motors. There's more to it than just that, so if it's something you're thinking about you'll want to do more research.
My buddy has a 318 with a 4-speed manual, edelbrock 600, performer intake, comp cam (don't remember which one, but it's a torquey one), and he made roughly 190/250 at the tires - 31x10.5x15's. My 360 with auto and failing TC, holley 600, edelbrock performer intake/cam, put down around 180 and 260 through 35x12.5x16.5's. I've got a lot more drivetrain loss than he does, and that was before I rebuilt the tranny and put a new torque converter in, so my numbers are up from then, but his truck is still faster. Oh, he's got 3.55's and I've got 4.10's.
You can make good power from the 318 so either way I don't think you'll be unhappy. I believe there are 4bbl heads for the 318 that are a much better head than the 2bbl ones, but still not nearly as good as the newer stuff.
The Ramchargers and probably 1/2 ton trucks have a lighter duty setup though, with smooth shifting. If you get it rebuilt, ask them to do whatever it is they have to do to bring it to HD specs.
Not sure which t-case came in the 81's. Crawl under and look for the round New Process tag, it should be a 203, 205, or 208. iirc 203 is iron case used in the way old ones, 205 is aluminum case gear driven but with a crappy low range, and 208 is a chain driven aluminum case with the better low range ratio.
I'd take it to a reputable tranny shop and have them take a look at the linkage to see if it's shifting properly, good shops will peek at it and let you know for free. Otherwise it may very well be an internal problem, and you could be looking at hundreds for repairs.
As far as the engine goes, the 318 is a decent motor, but the 360 is better and easy to swap in. The heads suck. Plain and simple. With stock heads, mild cam, intake, carb, headers, etc. you can expect to make about 180hp at the tires and 250 lb-ft or so, again at the tires.* Before you start tossing money at the 318 for an intake manifold and carb, you might consider swapping in a Magnum 360 from a wrecking yard. The intake manifold is a little bit different (but old ones will work, you just have to modify slightly) so it'll save you from the hassle. The magnum heads are a lot better, plus they use a 1.6:1 rocker instead of 1.5 like the older LA motors. There's more to it than just that, so if it's something you're thinking about you'll want to do more research.
My buddy has a 318 with a 4-speed manual, edelbrock 600, performer intake, comp cam (don't remember which one, but it's a torquey one), and he made roughly 190/250 at the tires - 31x10.5x15's. My 360 with auto and failing TC, holley 600, edelbrock performer intake/cam, put down around 180 and 260 through 35x12.5x16.5's. I've got a lot more drivetrain loss than he does, and that was before I rebuilt the tranny and put a new torque converter in, so my numbers are up from then, but his truck is still faster. Oh, he's got 3.55's and I've got 4.10's.
You can make good power from the 318 so either way I don't think you'll be unhappy. I believe there are 4bbl heads for the 318 that are a much better head than the 2bbl ones, but still not nearly as good as the newer stuff.
Professional
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 216
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From:
RE: Looking at 1981 Dodge Ram, what to look for?
It is a 727 tranny, i had one on my 78 4x4, and it lasted 320,000 miles, the engine gave out before the tranny did. I would check the universal joints on the driveshafts, i broke mine 3 times, but i was doing some hardcore offroadin. I dont know what to tell you about the front driveshaft, i naver had a problem with mine. I would pull it apart and see if the teeth are fragmented on the gears, thats about all i could think of.
