Has anyone done this in a mid 80's pickup with a 318? I am curious on how hard it is to do and if it is worth it. I have a place i can get all the parts for 500$. Comes with everything you need to do the complete conversion. My truck is an 1985 Power Ram with the 727 tranny. Is it worth swaping out?

 

It depends on the reason your considering doing the swap. If your thinking the 4th gear will let you cruise at higher speeds and lower RPM's, you won't be happy (unless you go with an overdrive 4 speed) but if your doing it because you prefer manual over automatic, yes do it for sure! I haven't done a 4 speed swap on anything yet. But if your like me and prefer manual over auto. Then yes it is 150% worth it. $500.00 is really cheap btw if your talking about an A833 4 speed. If that includes the bellhousing, flywheel, clutch pedal, clutch fork, shifter and all the other odd and end things you'll need.. that is super cheap. My Challenger is an automatic I plan to put a 4 speed in it pretty soon. Nothing beats having complete control of when to shift and how hard and fast you want to shift. How high are the gears in your rear end? If your running 3.23's or higher I would suggest going down to 3.55's to really be able to "feel" the power you will have complete control over when you do the swap. Also the higher gears will require you to give it a lot more gas to be able to take off and at the same time put more wear on the clutch.

My Challenger is really cool looking and gets more thumbs up than any vehicle I've ever owned... it's fun to drive in that respect. But when it comes to the joy of just driving. I will take my Coronet every time. It's a 440 4 speed dana 3.54. Nothing beats the pure enjoyment I get out of driving it simply because it is a 4 speed (the extreme amount of power from the 440 helps a lot too lol) But if it were a 440 with a 727 behind it. The car in my opinion would be no where near as fun to drive as it is now. I can cruise down the road at 45 mph in 4th gear and throw it up into 3rd, stomp the pedal to the floor and break the tires loose. I couldn't get that from an automatic.

 

Yes you can !!! You could do the same by making your 727 a full manual
Even so a good running 440 will smoke the tires if you kick it down to 2th

 

I totally agree with TVlynn, full manual really are just as fun if not fun 'er.
Instead of pressing the clutch you slap the floor repeatedly with your left foot and giggle your a$$ off!

 

The work is warranted if it is a working truck, even ocassionally. All of the guys I know that tow hate the new auto trucks and wish their companys would stick to manuals. The key to the package is 1st and top gear ratios matched to rear axle ratio along with rear tire size. The NV4500 is a great working transmission, any manual trans will give the 318 some help to get into the higher rpm range for power if it's fun or work.
My '92, '87 engine has a 3.91 gear and I'm switching to a 3.55. Always feels like you need another gear when in final drive.

 

I was saying stock. With a stock auto you have to wait til it's ready to shift. Even if your going through the gears on your own it will take its sweet time smoothly shifting into the next gear. With a true manual transmission like the a833 and a clutch you have options and COMPLETE control over how fast and when you shift, and how hard you want to shift. Also a full manual auto is missing the best part of having a manual transmission. The clutch. The clutch gives you the control of how hard or soft you want to shift. Rev it up to whatever RPM you choose and drop the clutch hard and your taking off harder than any stock 727 could ever think of taking off... I mean you could throw a 4,500 rpm torque converter and a good shift kit in it then your stuck with that, your going to be stuck taking off at nothing less that 4,500 rpm's hence it is no longer streetable unless your a good friend of every cop in town lol. The downside of doing this with a manual is that if you don't have a good racing clutch you'll have it wore out in no time. Also if you made a 727 a full manual.. its not really an automatic anymore is it? lol But each to his own everyone has their own preferences and that's cool. But if a person is biased because they just don't know how to drive a manual.. they are very seriously missing out.