[pontiac_fanatic]

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.