I have a 74 Firebird Formula 400. Its all stock.
What cheap to free mods can be done to optimize the power I have?
I really exhausted my car budget for this year--so it has to be cheap!
I went to the track last night for the first time with this car.
Just to sumarize. I bought this car last Nov in California and drove it home to Calgary, Alberta. It was a one owner car and is all stock.
400, 225hp, 3.08 open, TH-400. It has a/c, pw, pdl for the major options.
-I have removed most of the a/c prior (doesn't work) and that shaved 45lbs off.
-No spare in the trunk
-engine was rebuilt at about 150,000 miles. Still has original cam in it!! (dumbasses)
-Car has a trailer hitch on it
-Crappy, cheap 2" dual exhaust. I am sure this is worse then the factory system, and is costing a couple of hp.
Now for the results-- they are uncorrected. Calgary is 3300ft above seal-level BUT we have very dry air, which has the effect of being even higher.
Using NHRA correction factors--Calgarys times are 0.8 above sea-level.
I have raced a previous car here and in Ontario (couple hundred feet above sea-level and have verified this...the car ran 0.8 faster in Ontario.
I am car #164. Oh yeah and note my perfect (!!!) reaction time
So I am resonalbe happy with it. The baseline testing is done and now I can make changes and see the difference.
Corrected best time is a 15.8@86mph. Yeah still slow--for now
Probably not too far off the times it would have run brand new.
Now I will perform a tuneup (plugs, wires, fuel filter ect) have the exhaust cut off at the mufflers and get rid of the trailer hitch. Hopefully my et will drop a little.
I would like to get the car dyno-tuned as well. Do cheap mods this year and a few bolt-ons next year.
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