I have a 1984 D150 I have access to both a 318 that is built up some around 300hp and the 360 is stock, currently there is a 318 in the truck as of now. And am I correct in saying that the 360 is a straight swap.
which would you pick and why.. work truck and want to pull a 20' camper trailer..
Thanks

 

i think it would depend on how the 318 was done up. generally if it is putting out 300hp it is likely built for a car and not for a truck that is towing. you would likely need to change out the cam to make it more truck friendly but it may loose some power. the 360 is externally balanced so it would require a special neutrally balanced flex plate or a weighted torque converter. also is a a 360la or 360 magnum? if it is a stock 360la(92 and older) then it is really not much better than a 318 that is already in the truck. if it was a 360 magnum then ya you might notice a pretty big difference.

 

Just put the 300hp engine in. It will be more fun and you will learn from it.

If it doesn't work out for you, you can always put your original 318 back in. Which in all honesty is not much less powerful that a similar era 360.

 

So whats the best way to get more torgue and HP.. Thanks or if I was to rebuild My 318 what should I have done to it. I really want to do just a straight swap thanks

 

There's endless reading online about building small block Mopars. I would sit down and have a coffee date with Google, and also talk with whoever you want to do your machining. I personally prefer to use old guys who have built this stuff for decades already.

 

it really depends on your engine and what your willing to spend. you almost need to do a compression or leak down test to even see if the engine needs a rebuild or if it may just need a gasket set. as far as mods go it really depends a lot on what you want to spend. a towing cam is about the only mod that might help without being ridiculously expensive is a towing cam. some good breathing heads would be nice but that is where stuff starts getting a lot more expensive.