[Murdoch]

hey all, i've been working on a big block swap into my 85 ram. ran into yet another pit fall, when going from a 360 to a 440 on a truck that wasn't built with one, even for an option that year, what kind of underhood wiring am i going to need? i'm pondering either going through and disecting my old harness and lengthening certain things, and removing others. OR calling someone like painless wiring and seeing what they got. my old harness is pretty messed up, but i think i can fix it with a lil time. obviously i don't care about emissions otherwise i wouldn't do this, but what kind of stuff can i eliminate? like in another post that is running right now, the boxes on the d/s inner fender??
shawn

 

[Murdoch]

the post i'm refering to is by DDGRC84
shawn

 

[Taz_man440]

when i put my 440 in my 82.. i just hooked up what was needeed to make it run .. then unplugged stuff to see what would happen... if it still runs... it's not needed..

 

[Guest]

that's what I did too, but there isn't much difference in the wiring for a 78.

 

[Muskalade]

you just need the essentials like the distrbutor hooks ups, temp and oil sensors, and the alternator. And if you have a electric choke you will need to hook it up. Thats pretty much all you need to make one run.

 

[Murdoch]

anyone know if there is an aftermarket wiring kit someplace for this purpose? also what are you guys running for headers? just normal bigblock headers? i know i need one of those small starters to run headers. other than that i have all the mounts and what not to do the job.
shawn

 

[cooper30]

How about brake booster clearance?

 

[Murdoch]

How about brake booster clearance?

no big deal with that i looked into it, i already have the small booster, mine is a 3/4 ton it came stock. i also plan to run a 2" body lift solely for underhood clearance.
shawn

 

[Guest]

Well you won't have to worry about underhood clearance, there's plenty of room. I'm running hooker headers, and yes I had to switch break boosters. As far as wiring kits, you should have everything there already. You shouldn't have to run any new wires unless you have some damaged.
By the way are you military stationed in Germany?

 

[Murdoch]

Well you won't have to worry about underhood clearance, there's plenty of room. I'm running hooker headers, and yes I had to switch break boosters. As far as wiring kits, you should have everything there already. You shouldn't have to run any new wires unless you have some damaged.
By the way are you military stationed in Germany?

well, i have a friend that put a 440 in his truck and he was saying that its a pain to get the stock d/s valve cover off and i wanna run the aluminum mopar covers so i want some room. yeah my harnesses on the truck are messed up pretty bad, they used telephone cord to run the taillights so i'm looking for a rear harness if anyone has one. my underhood i think i can fix. yes i am in the army stationed in germany.
shawn

 

[manic_mechanic]

there are several companies that offer wiring, but it isn't cheap. going to run u about $300 for a generic harness. better off getting a manual with wiring diagram and some wire/solder elec. ends and make your own.

 

[Murdoch]

thought about doing that but, my wires are pretty messed up i know painless is one company anybody know any others?
shawn

 

[RockWannabe77]

Try checking out Centech. They offer at least one alternative to Painless. lol

 

[Murdoch]

ok i emailed them with my problem hopefully they have something because painless mainly has chevy stuff