i have an '01 half ton with the 318 in it. im looking to replace my heads, and add 1.7 roller rockers, a new cam, crank, rods, pistons. i need opinions or suggestions on this about what i should get what routes should i take? also possibly new intake manifold? after these mods i plan on running true duals with doug thorley headers. hughes racing has a stroker kit also, i could go that route. or maybe i shouldnt buy a kit and just go individually....not sure. thats why i turned to you brilliantly minded people here. also would i need larger injectors and throttle body? anything helps, thanks.

 

heads- good move
cam- very good move, this engines biggest parachute
1.7rr's- nah, depending on cam.. if you don't do cam, then yes
intake manifold- M1 or FI, no plenum worries ever again.. hughes plate on modded keg good tho
stroker- if $$ isn't an issue, dang skippy.. revisit all above..
throttle body- depends on where you want power, and if you stroke.
injectors- only if you stroke.. stock are fine for anything you can do to a NA 360..

LT headers are great, true duals good, make sure and H or X it though..

what are you looking for in this build?

 

im looking for power in the low to mids. being an '01 its an older body style, i want to have that truck that when people get in it and i floor it they say whoa where did that come from.. so youd say if i go with the new cam then i dont need the 1.7 rr's? as to the exhaust, if you X or H it is then a "true" dual? i like the look of a side exit exhaust pipe with a tip on it...not too large like a diesel but i like that look, so i would run the duals and then join them back together to one in the rear and exit on the side. also with the heads, aluminum or iron? also right now i only have 2.73's in the rear, if i upped that to 3.55's would that be a significant enough jump? but i dont want to kill my mpg's with the gears either bc i already only get 12-13.

 

here is the link for the hughes stroker kit...
http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...=&partid=25284
if i got this what else would i need?

 

if you have 2.73:1 gears I'd be surprised, but let's say you do, and you're getting 13mpg.. lowering the gears would actually solve a lot of what you are looking for.. if you went to 4.10:1 or 4.56:1, your head would snap on the low end, and your engine wouldn't lag as much getting it rollin' (read: better economy)..

as far as the stroker kit, there is a lot more to it than just the kit.. machine work is pricey.. and a stouter tranny would be in your immediate future.

there are multiple ways to consider aluminum heads.. personally, when I get there, I'm gonna do iron.. either clearwater, odessa, or hughes.. they are the same when it's all said and done (except price).. either 1.92 intake for velocity (low end) or 2.02 intake for volume (top end).. it's back to what your looking for.. If you do gears, your bottom end is covered- especially if you don't increase tire diameter- so I would go with 2.02's.. if you don't mess with gears or you put larger diameter tires, I'd stick with 1.92's.. I'd stay away from aluminum though...

the rocker rollers: increasing the ratio from stock 1.6 rockers to 1.7 rollers not only eliminates the parasitic drag of pivoting rockers, it increases the distance the valve opens.. it opens further, though duration isn't really affected.. They are a quick and easy solution (but not ideal) for the silly cam that came OE on these things.. If you're going to do a cam (which I wouldn't consider NOT doing if I were to pull the heads), I'd rec you do 1.6 rocker rollers and not 1.7, so you can maximize trimming parasitic losses, but not get into conflicting clearances..

exhaust: you need the two banks connected for it to be right.. you're pushing that exhaust a long way from the engine to the tips, and any help you can get that promotes scavenging is necessary.. I consider an x or h true duals, as the banks have separate piping- which in effect increases the exhaust path post Y (which your eliminating) to twice the size.. It doesn't work out exactly like that due to exhaust pulses timing and all, but it still is considered a huge bump.. X or H that baby, and you'll appreciate it once the bump in performance becomes less evident (you grow accustomed to it), as it will still sound like a V8 instead of a pair of four bangers.

You may want to consider gears and a SCT tune as your first mod's.. they are flat out the two best, and may get you exactly what you need long before doing all the other (read: expensive) mods.. though gears are pretty expensive all by themselves.

 

I'm 90% sure that I have the 2.73's on mine. But I'm gonna double check today. But as far as the gears, you don't think the 4.10's would be overkill? I'm running a 31/32" tire, but plan to upgrade to a 33" this summer.

As far as the cam and rockers, so are you saying you'd go with a cam, and stock rockers, or just 1.6 rollers. Or would you go with stock cam, and 1.7 rollers? Which would be the best? Or switch out both??

As far as the exhaust would it be fine to run 3" true duals? Or is that too big?

The stroker kit, what other things would be needed, and what sort of tranny work would be needed?

And lastly, wouldn't I need to do the sct tune after all of my mods?

 

dodge rams only came form the factory with

3.21

3.55

3.92

4.10

what iyf,,,,, open the hood and look up there is a tag that will tell u the gear size

 

have a look at my 408 build sheet in my garage.

head porting is a MUST IMO. 2.02s can flow in excess of 300 CFM with a good port job whereas they flow mid 200's out of the box. go iron (R/T or iron ram)

your best bet for your trans would be to get the mega viper from PATC.

im running a pretty agressive cam with over .570 lift and 108* LS. you will need to modify any piston you go with, i beleive. my quench pads were shaved .100 and it dialed me into a perfect .039 quench with a .054 gasket.

3" exhaust is perfect and yes, it will not run without an SCT tune.

 

If you want low end grunt, stick with header primary tubes 1.5 to 1 5/8ths diameter. Keep the rest of the pipe around 2.25 to 2.5.

I have seen issues with the pre-cat O2 sensor when installed on only one bank, so, may wanna put your H or X pipe close to the front, and put the pre-cat O2 there.

Since you are making many changes to the engine, you will need a custom tune for that, so, include a wideband O2 sensor in your budget.

For a BOATLOAD of info on what it takes to do the stroker, have a look at the 408 stroker build thread right here on the forums. You can get a good idea of what you are getting yourself into.

 

So you wouldn't run 3" the whole way?