i am close to buying a 1985 dodge 1ton 4x4 flatbed dually with a 318 v8 and the 727 auto. How hard would it be to put in a 360 or a 440? i would really like to have that extra power till i can save up some more money and drop in a cummins

 

360 will bolt right in no problem. 440 requires lots of modding.
Just do the Cummins first.

 

ive got pictures of my 77 on here in a few places, its a 2wd though....go ahead and just drop in the cummins, when i eventually convert mine to 4x4 im going to use a 94-02 or 03+ dodge axle and a free spin kit with 35 spline axles......

 

if i bought the truck i would have about $400 left and that aint enough to drop a cummins in but i am planning on dropping a cummins in it in the future when the bank account allows but for now i would like a little more power than the little dinky 318 has to offer

 

The 318 is a good little engine and I'm not sure how much you'd really gain by doing the 360 swap. A bit more torque down low maybe, but not much horsepower. Even with the "magnum" versions used in 1990's, the diff between the 318 and 360 was only 25hp and maybe 60 ft-lbs of torque. Depending on what it already has for gearing, you may consider just keeping the 318 and swapping out the axle gears until you can afford to swap in a significantly stronger engine.

 

does anybody know the availability of body parts for this body style truck like fenders and doors?