Sometimes the path of least resistance is better......

In the never-ending search for more speed gearheads sometimes go overboard on a project and spend way more time and money than they need to and often get disappointing results. Here's some good advice on how to avoid this pitfall and save yourself a ton of money and aggravation. # 1. Just because something is POSSIBLE doesn't mean it's the best thing to do or the most economical, or the most performance enhancing. For example it's possible to put a 460 V8 in a Fox-bodied Mustang but why would you want to? I know guys that run in the 10s with stock block 302s or stroker 347s. Honestly-do you really need to go faster than that? And would a 460 powered 'Stang that cost twice as much to build really run any quicker? Another example would be if you bought a 318 / automatic powered '71 Challenger. Naturally your first thought would be to throw a 440 in it. However-in order to do that besides locating a running, or at least rebuildable 440-( Not an easy task, they've been out of production since 1978 ) you'd need to get a big-block crossmember, big block torsion bars, "B" engine motor mounts, all the brackets and accessories, and you'll need to get a 727 Torqueflite to replace the 904. A 360 would bolt right in place of the 318. Blueprint Engines sells a 375 hp 360-based 408 inch stroker crate engine for about $3,500. Or you could get a junkyard 360 and rebuild it. 1992 and later Magnum Heads ( plentiful on Dodge trucks and Jeep Cherokees ) would give you an instant 40 hp boost. A Magnum style Edelbrock Performer RPM would add another 30 hp, and with the proper cam and headers you'd have an engine making an honest 350 hp and 400+lbs ft of torque. The car would run just as fast it would with all but the most radical 440 setups with a lot less grief and a lot less financial investment. A third example would be a '77-81 Firebird Formula or Trans-Am. Quite a few of these were built with 403 Olds engines from '77-79, and a lot of 1980-81 models had 305 Chevy engines in them. It would be a lot easier and cheaper to hop up the 403 Olds engine, or swap in a stout 350 or 383 Chevy than it would be to return it to "Real" 400 or 455 Pontiac Power. # 2. The biggest, coolest, state-of-the-art option isn't always the best. One example is cylinder heads. Hot Rod magazine did a comparison test a few years ago on identical 454 Chevy engines. They both had the same cam, carb and intake, ignition, etc. The only difference was one had oval-port "standard" heads-i.e.-what you find on station wagon,pickup or Suburban engines, and the other one had "High-Performance" rectangular poprt heads-what you find on L88 427, or LS6 454 engines. They were shocked when they dyno-tested them. The "High-Performance" heads did not show a noticeable gain in hp or torque until 6,300 rpm!! The conclusion was the hi-perf heads were a waste of money unless you were building an all-out race car that could rev to 8 grand. And they were right. Even on a hot street / strip machine that spends every weekend at the drags-honestly-how often, if ever- are you going to be above 6,300 rpm? Another case involved a dyno test of a ZZ4 crate engine. A set of Trick Flow aftermarket aluminum heads showed a 40 hp gain, in a very narrow window-from 4,700-6,200 rpm. However-if you read the dyno sheet-at some rpms there was no gain, and at some it was only 1 or 2 hp. In fact, the "antiquated" L98 factory heads were within 5 hp and 5 lbs of torque at every rpm from idle to 4,600!! Again-in your street machine, how often are you operating above 4,700 rpm? and further, the Trick Flow heads cost $1,400!! For $1,400 you can gain a lot more than 40 hp in a 1,500 rpm window. That would easily buy you a much hotter roller cam setup and a bigger carb and intake. You may not remember but GMPP sold a "ZZ430" a couple years back. It was based on the ZZ4 350 crate engine, but instead of being rated at 355 hp, it was rated at 430 hp-hence the name. The ZZ430 got the extra 75 hp by using a much hotter cam and a single-plane intake in place of the dual plane that comes stock. Or we all agree-for $1,400 you could put together an awesome nitrous system that would give you 150 or more extra hp on demand- a lot better than 40 horses between roughly 5 and six thousand rpm! Don't get me wrong I'm not saying don't buy aftermarket heads. They have their uses. But think about this-for any application other than a small-block Chevy aftermarket aluminum heads cost $2,000 or more per pair. Let's say you have a 400 Pontiac in your '70's Firebird. Assuming the engine is in good condition, and you can do the labor yourself, for 2 grand you could buy an Edelbrock Performer intake and matching carb, a Competition Cams Xtreme Energy cam kit, a set of Hedman Headers, a higher-stall speed converter, a set of 3.73:1 gears, some Lakewood traction bars, and a pair of BFG Drag Radials to put all that newfound power to the ground. Do you think that'll give you more bang for the buck than bolting a two-thousand dollar set of heads onto your otherwise stock vehicle?  # 3. Don't waste money on beefy, heavy duty parts that you don't need. If you read any of the buff magazines-every single project car has a custom 9 inch Ford rear end. I've said it before-I have never seen anyone break a Chrysler 8 3/4 rear and I know a guy that has a 505 Wedge with nitrous in a Duster that runs slicks, and his 8 3/4 stock rear axle has lasted about 5 years so far, and is still going. I have had 400, 4-speed '70's Trans-Ams and dropped the clutch a 4,000 rpm for 10-15 passes at the drags every weekend for years, and I never broke the 8.5 inch GM 10 bolt posi in them. I mean if you have a 700 hp engine that your going to launch at 5,000 rpm on wrinklewall slicks bolted to the rims with 8 psi in them, then yes you need all the beef you can get. But for 99% of the rest of us you don't need it. The same goes for transmissions. Again-if your running a 720 hp 572 Rat motor then yes I would recommend a professionally-prepped TH400. But barring that-a TH350 with a $30 shift kit will stand up to anything with up to 450-500 hp. Ditto for a Ford C4-you don't need a C6 unless you've got more than 500 hp. Buick Grand National racers run in the 9s with 200R4s. The same goes for sticks. No, I wouldn't put a BW T5 behind a 454. But I know guys that have swapped hot 350s into their mid-80's Camaros and run low 13s or high 12s with no problems. I know a "5.0" Mustang racer that runs in the low 12s or high 11s every weekend with a stock T5, and it lasted 13 months with him making 30 hard passes a weekend. If it had just been a daily driver or weekend cruiser-it would have lasted 3 or 4 years. Spend your money on stuff that's going to give you the biggest gain per dollar, not what's on the cover of a magazine or what's cool this week. Mastermind.