Budget conscious Performance Upgrades

[mavwreck]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I would like to hear from others what known upgrades (with a lower budget) I should be on the hunt for. I am 23 years old and only had my Coronet for 3 years and I believe I’ve made a post about it a while back but I’ll go over what the current setup is

1967 Dodge Coronet 440
- 1978 440 Block, crank, rods and pistons
- Purple shaft 474 Camshaft with new stock springs
- “516” closed chamber heads
- Edelbrock Torker 440
- Holley 700 cfm Double Pumper
- stock refurbished hei distributor with GM module
- iron flywheel and diaphragm style clutch
- 1.75 long tube headers
- 2.5” exhaust with purple hornies mufflers
- 1964 or 65 23 spline a833 (flange style)
- Yukon 489 case with 3.23 suregrip
- 28 x 8.5” Hoosier Slicks
- power steering
- manual 10” drums front and rear

As the car sits without me in it it weighs 3910 lbs. I know for sure that the stock pistons need to be addressed and the cam is very small. This was the first time I took it to the drag strip and it ran 15.154 at 91 mph. I will that elevation was over a mile so in reality it should be a high 14s car. Just wondering what would be my best price to performance upgrade path since I’m rebuilding the motor and trans this summer.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: To make a few points clear and my current baselines:
Best E/T: 15.157 @91.74mph
I have made 15 passes averaging 15.362
I am looking to stay under $5000
My E/T goal is low 13s at the least

 

[dfrazz]

What is your goal for the car? Strip only 11 sec car? Street cruising with occasional rip down the 1/4 mile for fun? Highway and street?

 

[mavwreck]

What is your goal for the car? Strip only 11 sec car? Street cruising with occasional rip down the 1/4 mile for fun? Highway and street?

Totally forgot to mention that sorry! I’m looking to make the car somewhere in the 11-12 second range that I can drive on the street. Definitely not a highway bomber since I have another car I cruise but I do sometimes like to take this one to car shows and cruises. As it sits it was put together for the Duct Tape Drags event in Tucson

 

[slepr1]

IMO better cam, valve springs (if stock won't work), and bump up the compression a little. My 440 woke up with higher compression. You probably use high octane fuel anyways. With the car weight & driver and your gears, I think you'll do high 12's. Want better? More money. To make a 4000+ pound car go 11-12 seconds isn't cheap if you want it to last.

 

[Kern Dog]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I would like to hear from others what known upgrades (with a lower budget) I should be on the hunt for. I am 23 years old and only had my Coronet for 3 years and I believe I’ve made a post about it a while back but I’ll go over what the current setup is

1967 Dodge Coronet 440
- 1978 440 Block, crank, rods and pistons
- Purple shaft 474 Camshaft with new stock springs
- “516” closed chamber heads
- Edelbrock Torker 440
- Holley 700 cfm Double Pumper
- stock refurbished hei distributor with GM module
- iron flywheel and diaphragm style clutch
- 1.75 long tube headers
- 2.5” exhaust with purple hornies mufflers
- 1964 or 65 23 spline a833 (flange style)
- Yukon 489 case with 3.23 suregrip
- 28 x 8.5” Hoosier Slicks
- power steering
- manual 10” drums front and rear

As the car sits without me in it it weighs 3910 lbs. I know for sure that the stock pistons need to be addressed and the cam is very small. This was the first time I took it to the drag strip and it ran 15.154 at 91 mph. I will that elevation was over a mile so in reality it should be a high 14s car. Just wondering what would be my best price to performance upgrade path since I’m rebuilding the motor and trans this summer.

Thank you in advance!

View attachment 1815385

I went 14.01 at 101 with a combo not that much different. My drag racing skills were not great. I had a 2.20 60 ft time.
1970 Charger with no carpet or back seat, weighing just under 3900 lbs but with 3.91 gear and a 727 with a factory Hi Stall converter.
You can get into the 13s with the combo but you will not shave 2 seconds from your ET with the existing combo....without nitrous.

 

[dvw]

Have you tried varing ignition timing. Not always but sometimes 2 degrees either way can be pretty significant. More rear end gear would be the first step. Especially with a 4 speed. Valve springs may not be up to the task either. The compression is low so a cam upgrade won't be very effective w/o upping the compression. A few degrees of cam advance may help. It depends if you are ready to upgrade. Or try to make what you have better. No reason that thing shouldn't go 14's at Milan or Lapeer. Elevation at Lapeer is 837ft, Milan 672ft. What is your budget for your rebuilds? Can you do the work yourself? Do you have experienced help? These factors will ultimately decide what parts are best.
Doug

 

[mavwreck]

I went 14.01 at 101 with a combo not that much different. My drag racing skills were not great. I had a 2.20 60 ft time.
1970 Charger with no carpet or back seat, weighing just under 3900 lbs but with 3.91 gear and a 727 with a factory Hi Stall converter.
You can get into the 13s with the combo but you will not shave 2 seconds from your ET with the existing combo....without nitrous.

I thought about it a lot and I’m almost certain that my skills had a lot to do with my slow ET. I don’t WANT to start from scratch but then again I’m aware that my setup is fairly mismatched

 

[mavwreck]

Have you tried varing ignition timing. Not always but sometimes 2 degrees either way can be pretty significant. More rear end gear would be the first step. Especially with a 4 speed. Valve springs may not be up to the task either. The compression is low so a cam upgrade won't be very effictive w/o upping the compression. A few degrees of cam advance may help. I see we live pretty close.
Doug

Currently running 14 initial and between 38-39 full advance. It jumps between those two. As far as valve springs go I’m unsure what I should go for. The cam was installed dot to dot and I never did degree it (how naive of me)

 

[mavwreck]

More rear end gear would be the first step.

I’m unsure what gear also I’ve been thinking either 3.91 or 4.10

 

[Bird 426]

Yes, gear ratio, how much hiway driving do you expect to do? Of course, tire size will enter into this. Engine noise above 2,500 rpm tends to get annoying for me., but, you are still young!

 

[gtxrt]

Currently running 14 initial and between 38-39 full advance. It jumps between those two. As far as valve springs go I’m unsure what I should go for. The cam was installed dot to dot and I never did degree it (how naive of me)

try 34 total so just set timing at 10* at idle. it might even be detonating at that much timing. the 474 cam has 232 @ .050 plenty big for low 13's. the torker is hurting low end the rpm performer intake with a bigger cfm carb would be a better combo. 26 inch tire for the strip would help too.

 

[Kern Dog]

I agree. The Performer RPM or Holley Street Dominator are really good intakes that fit under a stock hood. The gear ratio helps a lot.
That isn’t a bad cam. You just won’t get into the 11s with it.
There are HP/weight calculators that help you know how much power your combination needs to reach a specific ET. I never applied science to it myself though, ETs were just for bragging rights and comparing with buddies.
I never took drag racing as serious as others do.

 

[RJRENTON]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I would like to hear from others what known upgrades (with a lower budget) I should be on the hunt for. I am 23 years old and only had my Coronet for 3 years and I believe I’ve made a post about it a while back but I’ll go over what the current setup is

1967 Dodge Coronet 440
- 1978 440 Block, crank, rods and pistons
- Purple shaft 474 Camshaft with new stock springs
- “516” closed chamber heads
- Edelbrock Torker 440
- Holley 700 cfm Double Pumper
- stock refurbished hei distributor with GM module
- iron flywheel and diaphragm style clutch
- 1.75 long tube headers
- 2.5” exhaust with purple hornies mufflers
- 1964 or 65 23 spline a833 (flange style)
- Yukon 489 case with 3.23 suregrip
- 28 x 8.5” Hoosier Slicks
- power steering
- manual 10” drums front and rear

As the car sits without me in it it weighs 3910 lbs. I know for sure that the stock pistons need to be addressed and the cam is very small. This was the first time I took it to the drag strip and it ran 15.154 at 91 mph. I will that elevation was over a mile so in reality it should be a high 14s car. Just wondering what would be my best price to performance upgrade path since I’m rebuilding the motor and trans this summer.

Thank you in advance!

View attachment 1815385

What is the budget? What level of performance increase are you expecting/requiring? Parts are expensive, machine shop labor hours are expensive........if I were to GUESS: budget = $5k minimum....actuall when everything is completed = $7.5 - $9k spent......
BOB RENTON

 

[mavwreck]

Yes, gear ratio, how much hiway driving do you expect to do? Of course, tire size will enter into this. Engine noise above 2,500 rpm tends to get annoying for me., but, you are still young!

I only take it on the highway maybe once or twice a year. I live in cornfields so it’s mostly open roads!

 

[mavwreck]

What is the budget? What level of performance increase are you expecting/requiring? Parts are expensive, machine shop labor hours are expensive........if I were to GUESS: budget = $5k minimum....actuall when everything is completed = $7.5 - $9k spent......
BOB RENTON

Yeah I was going to mention that budget means different things to different people. I’m looking to stay under 5k. As far as perf goes I’m looking to shoot for a 12.999 or faster that I can still take to my local car shows

 

[dvw]

My son ran a late model 440 stock short block that was reringed. Pistons .125-.150" in the hole. Mopar 484 cam, Eddy RPM heads, Eddy RPM intake, Eddy 600 carb. headers, stock 12" converter, 3.91, 255/60 radial T/A's it would dip into the high 12's. We also run 44o, 10.0-1, rpm heads, Mopar .557 solid, Eddy 2x4 intake w/ 2 600's, headers, good converter, 4.10. It's been 11.30's. Both cars were street 65 Plymouth's. I'd be looking for a pair of used Eddy RPM heads, RPM intake, and a gear. Next on the list would be a cam. If the short block has decent ring seal leave it alone, spend the money elsewhere.
Doug

 

[PRHeads]

What track did you run the 15’s at?

Mild street/strip combos with a 4 speed are often about 1 second slower than equally set up combos with an auto.
It’s a challenge to get the(non race) stick car to 60’ well without breaking parts……. Especially when they’re heavy.

My suggestions would be like DVW’s.

 

[RJRENTON]

Yeah I was going to mention that budget means different things to different people. I’m looking to stay under 5k. As far as perf goes I’m looking to shoot for a 12.999 or faster that I can still take to my local car shows

Budget = MAXIMUM $$ to spend. If 5K is all that is available, perhaps, postpone the work until a surplus is available to cover the unexpected parts or work necessary to yield desired results.....and there are ALWAYS unexpected costs that crop up.......this is reality....do you have firm quotes for the work and parts you want/need??? I guessing not.......just my opinion......
BOB RENTON

 

[mavwreck]

What track did you run the 15’s at?

Mild street/strip combos with a 4 speed are often about 1 second slower than equally set up combos with an auto.
It’s a challenge to get the(non race) stick car to 60’ well without breaking parts……. Especially when they’re heavy.

My suggestions would be like DVW’s.

Tucson Dragway

 

[mavwreck]

Budget = MAXIMUM $$ to spend. If 5K is all that is available, perhaps, postpone the work until a surplus is available to cover the unexpected parts or work necessary to yield desired results.....and there are ALWAYS unexpected costs that crop up.......this is reality....do you have firm quotes for the work and parts you want/need??? I guessing not.......just my opinion......
BOB RENTON

I guess more than anything I’m just looking to see where the most improvement could be made from my current setup and or where I should start to put my money into. I don’t know what parts I exactly want at the moment. I know I am looking to upgrade to disc brakes in the front, and much stiffer rear leaf springs for sure but I’m unsure what actual performance upgrades I’d like to do since I’m not sure what’s going to make the most difference. From what I’m gathering a good rebuild of the 440 with new valve springs, a better intake, and a degreed cam coupled with a better rear gear sounds like my best course of action