91 dakota questions

Hello,

So I have a 91 dakota 2wd with:
8.25" LSD
318 LA (to be replaced by 318 magnum)
A-518 transmission

I want to twin turbo the magnum in the future with headers I make myself.

Should I get a different transmission and diff or will the already existing ones be able to handle the power? I will be rebuilding the engine appropriately.

Thanks for any help

Curious if you know if the 518 is original. My 91 has an A-500/318 LA.
Up until recently, versions of the 518 were put behind V10's and cummins diesels. Plenty of strength available when building one. Differential wise, it would be fine if you didn't plan to turbo. I'd consult with Dr Diff on that one. My idea would be a Ford explorer 8.8 as a budget one. 3.73 gears are common, as well as disc brakes, and prob a bit narrower (room for bigger tires).

Previous owner told me the 518 was installed by his mechanic friend, but I haven't actually checked to see if he was lying yet. I won't be too upset if I have to get a new tranny.

Thanks! Just an fyi - my trans guy told me the both 500/518 use the same OD
section. The weak point is the 500 is based on the 904 (smaller scale parts
of the same ones in the 727/518). Great for drag racing (lower parisitic losses), but not good for long term durability in high powered combos otherwise.

Do you think a 727 would be better? I seem to be having trouble finding reliable info on what transmission to use in a turbo setup, at least for a bigger engine than a 2.5L which I couldn't bring myself to put in my truck.

edit: I don't plan on drag racing much at all, maybe just against friends every once in a while. I want to keep this truck as a daily driver

edit 2: upon finding out the 727 and 518 are basically the same (http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/a518-vs-727.204137/) I guess I should just use the one that I know will fit. Also, according to http://www.dakota-truck.net/infosheet.html the a518 was the only v8 rated auto transmission? Is this website just wrong?

I've seen a lot of the 904 based transmissions take a lot of abuse in stock form. When they were built right, they were really tough. The small trans seems to fit a little better in the early Dakota chassis, gives more room for exhaust.

I would be more concerned about the 8 1/4 rear end, though not whimppy, if you get traction, they will be the weak link in the drive train. Gene