Tuning tips for maximum performance.....Even if your car is concours-stock!

I talk to so many musclecar owners that complain about being beaten in a "Stoplight Gran Prix" by a supposedly slower, newer car, or they went to the drags and their car didn't run anywhere close to what an old "Hot Rod" or "Car and Driver" road test said it could do in the 1/4. I see it all the time-cars with $5,000 paint jobs and $2,000 worth of tires and wheels that run like total crap. Here's why-sloppy maintenance and bad tuning. Here's how to solve this problem easily and cheaply. # 1. Ignition. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars running around with bad plug wires, the points closing up, the vacuum advance disconnected, and the timing either too far advanced or retarded. Ask somebody at a "Show-n-Shine" someday when's the last time they changed the spark plugs, or the distributor cap, rotor and wires?  You'll get a blank stare and an answer like "Huh?" "Why?" After they complained about it not running right. So do a complete tune-up-points and condenser, cap , rotor , wires, plugs, and make sure the vacuum advance is working and hooked up and set the timing to the factory specs. # 2. Carburation. This is the big one. If the car has a single 4bbl-chances are it hasn't been rebuilt in years. The floats are sinking, the throttle shafts are warped, it's full of dirt, the throttle linkage doesn't open fully. Ask the average guy when's the last time he changed the fuel filter? Or they've just put a new Holley or Edelbrock or Demon carb on the car and can't understand why it doesn't run up to par. They either over-carburated it like a 750 cfm Holley Double-Pumper mounted on a single-plane "Victor Jr" intake- ( Yes It worked great on the magazine's 11:1 383 with a .520 lift cam, a 3 grand coverter and 4.11 gears ) I don't understand why it totally killed the bottom-end and mid-range on an otherwise stock 8.5:1 compression 350 with a stock torque converter and 3.08:1 gears?  "I just don't get it." They also don't get that on their otherwise stock car they'd be better off with a Dual-plane Edelbrock Performer or Weiand Stealth and a 600 cfm vacuum-secondary Holley or Edelbrock carb.  Or they didn't read the instructions that said  "Some tuning may be required". It's rare that you bolt a carb on and it works perfectly out of the box. Depending on your application their usually either too rich or too lean. And even on vacuum-secondary carbs sometimes the secondarys open too quick which can cause a bog. Take the time to jet the carb right and tune it right and the performance increase will be amazing. It's worse on tri-power or dual-quad setups. They drive like my grandmother on prozac and the second it fouls a spark plug, they start screwing around with the carburators. Pretty soon it won't even start, much less run properly. Have someone who's experienced in multi-carb setups tune the system with a carb syncronizer. If your going to drive like grandma then go a range or two hotter on the plugs. You can always change the plugs if you decide to take a long trip or go to the drags. # 3. Do a compresssion test. Ultra-performance crate motors may have readings of 175-200 lbs or more. Most healthy stock engines will have 140 lbs. Even an 8:1 compression "Smog" motor should have 125 lbs, and all cylinders should be within 5-10 psi of each other. If your only reading 90 lbs on one or more cylinders-then you have a serious problem-bad rings, burned valves, or a blown head gasket. You'd be amazed at the number of cars running around on 6 or 7 cylinders. # 4. No high-rpm power. I'm not talking 7,000 or 8,000 rpm-many cars don't have the valvetrain or bottom-end strength for that. But a 318 Dodge with a two-barrel will pull smoothly to 5,000 rpm or so. If your car is backfiring, or missing, or won't rev over 4,000-4,500 rpm-you could have a flat cam, or bad valvesprings or a lot of timing chain slop. You'd be amazed at the number of cars with $5,000 paint jobs that can't pull 5,000 rpm in low gear!  # 5. Transmission. If you have an automatic transmission-when's the last time you changed the fluid?  Is your vacuum modulator hooked up? Is your kickdown linkage working properly? . Have you installed a "Shift Improver Kit?" If you don't know the answers to these questions then you could be losing a substantial amount of performance through a slipping, or improperly shifting trans.  All these factors contribute. Bad tuning or lack of maintenance can cost you as much as 50 hp on a bone-stock engine. Get to work and make your car run up to it's potential. Mastermind