[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.

[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.

[pontiac_fanatic]

r/t and best mph.

[b-man]

Buy a kit to re-curve the distributor or have it done professionally.

Swap in a factory performance cam, use the Mellings version (OEM supplier) of the 068 HO cam. Advance it 4 degrees, use a decent quality timing chain set. Changing the cam/timing chain set can be done for about $200 and weekend of work, plenty cheap enough for a good performance boost.

Don't cut off the tailpipes at the mufflers, the only thing you'll gain is carbon monoxide poisoning.

[elohssa]

I second the recurve advice, Take your distributor over to Davenport and have them recurve it (Only local shop I know of that does it) It will be the best $120.00 you will ever spend for the car!

[Tom Vaught]

Windshield washer fluid? (inside joke)

Just kidding, clean windows makes you think you are going faster!

Tom V.

[Mark1968]

Have a safe day - eh!

Sorry, it's funny

[pontiac_fanatic]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Elohssa:
I second the recurve advice, Take your distributor over to Davenport and have them recurve it (Only local shop I know of that does it) It will be the best $120.00 you will ever spend for the car! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Davenport? Do they even know what a Pontiac engine is? I have the non HEI distributor, does that matter?

Swaping a cam in sounds great! When can you come over and do it for me? I can't even change my passenger side spark plugs!

I had dual exhaust on my 74 350 Firebird with no tailpipes--never noticed any smell.

[carcrazy]

Carbon monoxide has no smell!!

[242177P]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by pontiac_fanatic:
have the exhaust cut off at the mufflers </div></BLOCKQUOTE>You've noticed how exhaust systems don't last very long? Simply put, exhaust is corrosive. That exhaust will now be attacking all of your sheetmetal (which BTW, is thinner) from the cut back.

[Squidward]

I spent $30 on a stock points distributor from Autozone, and $15 on a GP Sorensen Qjet rebuild kit. I imagine your points are probably wasted and the advance weights are all crusted, so even a stock points replacement would be a considerable improvement. I also like my Pertronix electronic conversion (about $70). Beyond that, the dollars start to evaporate quickly, and you're into headers and cam.

[elohssa]

No Davenport doesn't know a Pontiac from a Pony but the concept is the same for any distributor, Whether it's the old points or hei distributor doesnt matter they can both be recurved but if it were my car I would go down to Pick your part and get a pontiac HEI then take that in for the recurve, points are oldschool and are just one more thing that can wear out/go wrong. Oh and what that other guy said is right cutting your exhaust off is a bad idea, Somebody (previous owner) Did that to my 76 and now all the sheetmetal behind the rear bumper is rotted away in the exact areas where the shortened exhaust pipes dumped out.

[b-man]

Swaping a cam in sounds great! When can you come over and do it for me?

Well, after paying for my airfare, expenses and labor your mods wouldn't be even close to cheap or free.

But perhaps a more experienced friend can help you with some of the mods that are a bit more involved than a tune-up. Keep reading these forums and buy some books on Pontiac performance. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

[pontiac_fanatic]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by b-man:
Swaping a cam in sounds great! When can you come over and do it for me?

Well, after paying for my airfare, expenses and labor your mods wouldn't be even close to cheap or free.

But perhaps a more experienced friend can help you with some of the mods that are a bit more involved than a tune-up. Keep reading these forums and buy some books on Pontiac performance. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah I got to get a friend who likes to work on my car!Getting peole to help me nowis like pulling teeth---my own!!

My fiance won't let me work on it alone anymore!

[Scarebird]

I would wait on the cam till your mechanical skills are ready for it. Besdies, if you have an 067 in it, it may not be a great idea to change it. Having the distributor recurved is a great idea, especially if you step up to small-body setup. I would also look to see what gears you are running.

[pontiac_fanatic]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Scarebird:
I would wait on the cam till your mechanical skills are ready for it. Besdies, if you have an 067 in it, it may not be a great idea to change it. Having the distributor recurved is a great idea, especially if you step up to small-body setup. I would also look to see what gears you are running. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

small-body setup??

As for gears I am running 3.08s, couild be better, could be worse.

[cblandin]

At what rpm is your TH400 shifting. Mine was shifting through the gears way too soon. I used a $35 B&M governor shift kit to raise teh shift points for dramatically better driving feel and performance. Of course my car had a non-original 455 and TH400 which weren't matched to my car.

[Billy177]

you could try rejetting the carb, i think the mid 70's ones were basically detuned from the factory although i may be wrong

[pontiac_fanatic]

at what rpm? I have no idea--it has no tach

I think if you leave it in drive it will upshift at 30mph. Which felt too low to me.

I manually shifted every time--at 40mph. The tires chirp at this shift.

And I am sure the carb could use some tweaking...the altitude is 3300ft here and it was from CA

[amcmike]

Try a liquid diet for one month and go to the track with nothing but a helmet on. (I guess for a guy it could have more than one meaning.)