Bret Ludwig wrote:

> Let's say hypothetically I have a Magnum 318 Dodge truck with a dead
> ECM and I want to get rid of the ECM entirely. I know there is a carb
> manifold available, will a standard electronic or points distributor
> fit these engines? Or is there an aftermarket one that does and
> provides conventional triggering and advance mechanisms?

As far as I know, a circa 1973 full-function (trigger, mech. advance,
and vacuum advance) distributor for a 318 will fit in the engine and cna
fire a standard circa 1973 Mopar ignition module (or GM HEI module since
we're in the custom realm anyway ;-)) The big question that I do not
know for certain is whether or not there's room back there for the
vacuum advance on the side of the distributor to swing around to allow
you to set the timing- that's more vehicle-dependent than engine
dependent, since the carb-type manifold WILL have clearance for the
distribuor.
>
> If it has an automatic, does its box need the data from the ECM and if
> it does, can it be rewired to use other inputs or a
> non-electronic-engine box?

That depends on the year of the truck. From the start of the Mangnums
until about 1996, the transmission only used electronic controls for two
things: 1) locking the convertor, and 2) engaging overdrive. Those
signals came from the PCM, but a lot of guys that put these trannies in
old muscle cars just used toggle switches, and there is a little "black
box" available to do it automatically without a full PCM. The rub is
that starting around 1996, Chrysler got rid of the hydraulic governor in
that transmission, and used a tonewheel type outputs speed sensor that
generated a signal fed to the PCM. The PCM in turn combined this with
other inputs and sent a signal back to an actuator in a modified version
of the valve body and thus was involved in ALL the shift-points and
shift-rates. That's a much harder system to duplicate than the earlier
trnamission that still retained a full hydrualic governor.