How to get all the performance out of your musclecar......Have a pro check it if you need to!!...

I talk to so many people that spend umpteen thousands of dollars on a musclecar and then are disappointed in the cars performance. Part of this problem is a lot of these people aren't mechanics and don't know what to look for. If your buying a restored car that someone wants $10,000 or more dollars for-they shouldn't object to you wanting a mechanic to look at it before forking over big dollars. If they refuse-look for another car. It's worth $100-most competent shops charge anywhere from $95-120 per hr depending on where you live-to have the car looked over by a third-party and maybe avoid buying something that looks good-but could be a money pit in need of major repairs. Here's the things to do-or ask the mechanic your paying for the inspection to do.  # 1. Do a compression test. Even an 8:1 "smog" motor will have 120-130 psi of compression. Higher performance engines will have 150 or more. Ultra high-compression engines-i.e.-L88 427s, Boss 351s etc can have 175-200+. The main thing is the readings should be uniform-within about 10 psi for all 8 cylinders. If one cylinder has only 80 or 90 psi-the car could have bad rings or a blown head gasket. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars limping around on 6 or 7 cylinders. # 2. No high rpm power. I'm not talking about 7,000 or 8,000 rpm-many cars don't have the bottom-end or the valvetrain strength for that. But even a 318 Dodge with a 2bbl and 150,000 miles on it will rev to 5,000 rpm or so if nothing's wrong with it. If the car backfires or starts popping or loses power above 3,500-4,000 rpm-you could have a flat cam, broken valvesprings, or excessive timing chain slop. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars I see with $5,000 paint jobs and $2,000 worth of tires and wheels that can't pull 5,000 rpm in low gear.  # 3. Bad / Neglected Ignition systems. This is probably the number one problem I see. The vacuum advance is inoperative or unplugged, the timing is way too slow or way too advanced, the points are closing up, one or more plug wires is bad, the rotor is burned up, etc. You'd be amazed at the cars I see with $5,000 paint jobs and the owner can't tell you the last time-if ever-that he changed the plugs,points, or cap, rotor and wires!!  # 4. Bad / Improperly tuned carburators. I see so many musclecars that have sinking floats,are set way too rich or way too lean, have throttle linkages that don't open all the way, warped baseplates or throttle shafts,major vacuum leaks, etc. It's worse for multi-carb applications like Tri-Power Pontiacs and Corvettes, Six-Pack Mopars, 409 Chevys, 426 Hemis etc. They drive it like grandma because their afraid of blowing it up. Many of these cars are only driven on and off the trailer. Then, the second it fouls a spark plug the owner starts screwing around with the carburator(s). Pretty soon it won't even start. If your buying a new carb-unless you've got a full-on race engine-most Holley or Edelbrock carbs work pretty good out of the box. If your working with an original carb-go to a shop that has an infrared analyzer and can actually measure how rich or lean the car is at idle and at speed. If it's a dual-quad or Tri-power setup find someone who's well versed in synchronizing multi-carb setups and pay them to do it right. Some hillbilly with a loud pickup that he tuned "by ear" is not the guy you want working on your prized car!!!   # 5. Transmissions. I see so many musclecars running around 1 or 2 qts low on transmission fluid, the kickdown linkage is inoperable or missing altogether, the vacuum modulator is unplugged or covered in grease and not working, and the fluid is brown or black and the owner can't tell you when, if ever-it was last changed. Even if you don't drive the car a lot-I'd change the fluid at least once a year. Make sure the kickdown is hooked up and working properly. Make sure the modulator is working properly. Invest in a B&M or TransGo shift kit. GM, Ford or Mopar-you can lose a ton of performance with a malfunctioning automatic trans. Ditto for sticks. I see so many cars with slipping clutches,chattering release bearings, shift linkages that bind up, etc. And these are easy fixes-a clutch replacement is not that hard to do, and not overly expensive even if you have a shop do it. Hurst has a rebuild program-you can send them your original shifter assembly and they'll put new bushings, shift rods, etc on it. # 6. Exhaust. How many musclecars do you see with rusted out or crushed exhaust systems, leaking manifolds or headers, that sound like sputtering dump truck?  Even if your running stock manifolds making sure the gaskets are seated properly and having good pipes and mufflers go a long way toward getting optimum performance. If you are running headers you'll need to replace the gaskets once in a while and re-torque the bolts often. If you can hear an exhaust leak-your losing a substantial amount of power. These simple tips will help you get the most bang for the buck even if the car is bone-stock. Mastermind