Besides being "Period Correct" "Old School" parts can really rock...

If your "Restifying" a '60's or '70's car you probably want it to run like a scalded cat, but you don't want a bunch of 21st century parts on it. I get it-you want your say '68 Camaro to look 60's cool under the hood. You don't want an MSD HEI distributor, Vortec heads, a Performer RPM intake and a Demon carb, etc. Well don't despair. There's a lot of "Old School" parts out there at swap meets and on the internet that still make SERIOUS power, and have the added bonus of being "Period Correct". Here's stuff to look for. #1. Aftermarket Intake Manifolds. As long as their not cracked, a 40 year old intake will flow air and fuel just as well today as it did 40 years ago. In the '70s Edelbrock had some single-plane intakes for small and big block Chevys. There was the Torker, the Tarantula and the Scorpion. They all really rocked from 3,000-7,000 rpm or so. Now a modern Performer RPM or Torker II or Victor Jr might make a bit more hp and torque on a dyno-But on a given engine-say a hot 350 or even a 454-in real-world drivability or at the drags I doubt that you'd notice a difference in the seat of your pants or on a timeslip. And this just doesn't apply to Chevys. Edelbrock still makes the "Old" Torker for some engines-351C Fords, 455 Olds,360-401 AMCs. Holley had a line of single-plane intakes in the '70's and 80's-they were called "Street Dominator" and "Strip Dominator"- and they worked great. The "Street Dominators" made power from idle to 5,500 rpm. The "Strip Dominators" made power from 3,000-7,200.  I had one on my 403 Olds powered '77 T/A, and I had one on a 400 Pontiac powered '78. They were also available for small and big block Chevys, small and big block Fords, and Mopars. A buddy put a "Strip Dominator" on his 396 Chevelle and it made a Huge difference in the mid-range and top-end performance, and didn't really hurt the the bottom end. Weiand had their "X-Celerator" line of manifolds, and Offenhauser had a line of single and dual-quad intakes. I had an Offy Dual-Quad intake on my Judge and it was awesome. I have one in a box in my garage that I bought from PAW years ago in case I decide to build another Stompin' Pontiac!  The point I'm making is these parts are great buys, their "Period Correct" and honestly-if a modern Performer RPM or Team G makes 10-15 more hp-guess what? You won't miss it!  # 2. "Old-Style" distributors. Accel and Mallory still make point-type and electronic old-style-i.e.- point-type cap design distributors. Petronix makes an excellent electronic conversion that fits under a point-type cap and looks stock. Their still selling because they still work-way better than a 40 or 50 year old stock point type-and they don't ruin an "Old-School" car's look like a large-cap HEI or an MSD Billett distributor would. # 3. "Classic" or "Reproduction" Cams. Crane, Lunati, Competition Cams, and other companies all offer exact replicas of classic musclecar cams, both hydraulic and solid-lifter designs. Since people can't see the cam-I'd go with a more modern design that's computer optimized and has more power and torque,more vacuum at idle, better gas mileage etc. But if you "Gotta Have" the classic sound and feel, there's nothing wrong with an "Old School" cam. The classic 350 hp 327 Chevy cam won't pass smog like the later L46 / L82 cam-( which had identical duratuon and lift, but less overlap ) or make as much peak power as a modern Comp Cams Magnum or Edelbrock Torker II design-but in a 350 or 383 with 3.42:1 or stiffer gears it will rock-n-roll, and pull hard to 6,500 rpm. The same goes for other classics-you can buy a cam that makes more power and torque than the "440 Magnum" cam-but the old standby will be good enough for 99% of the people who love Mopars. And if your car is say an L78 Chevelle-nothing sounds like a high-compression, solid-lifter Rat motor at full wail!!  I don't care if a new hydraulic "Rollin Thunder" roller can make 25 more hp, it can't touch the sound!!!  Anyhow-you can have the classic look and great performance with these Old School parts. Like Arnold said in the last Terminator movie-while kicking some serious ass- "Old, not Obsolete."  Amen. Mastermind