Things you did/upgraded that surprised you how helpful they were

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B3422w5

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Can think of two things over the years i changed that made a lot more difference than i would have thought before doing them

1. swapping from an 8 to a 10 inch rear wheel… 10 inch slick
Couldn't believe how much more stable the car was going down the track(9 sec car). Huge difference. Drove like a Caddy compared to 8 inch wheel

2. completely removing 50 year old wire and installing all new aftermarket wiring system.
Car starts way better, battery stays topped up, never needs a battery charger, just night and day difference. And under the hood WAY cleaner look.


What are things you guys have done?
 
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1. Changing from drum brakes to front disc's and Large bolt pattern (15s) all the way around.

2. All new wiring, no more intermittent issues.

Oops, this is the racers forum.:steering:
 
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  • MT ET streets drag radials. Unbelievable ride on the highway and they hook up so incredible.
  • 90's mini starters. Turn the old classics over so much quicker, they are smaller, and lighter. I've been converting my classics and been for a while. Always an upgrade I do, and I just did my '77 van.
 
318willrun said:
  • MT ET streets drag radials. Unbelievable ride on the highway and they hook up so incredible.
  • 90's mini starters. Turn the old classics over so much quicker, they are smaller, and lighter. I've been converting my classics and been for a while. Always an upgrade I do, and I just did my '77 van.
Click to expand...

yep, moving from bias to radial would have been next on the list. Nice not dragging flat tires down the track too going to radials
 
Rain X on the windshield. I tried it thinking my single speed wipers need all the help they can get, and all the roadster guys swear by it.

The rain just flies off the glass, I barely need to run the wipers. It works so well, I bought a complete variable speed setup from 65 Dartman!
 
Replaced a stock tank that had been sumped, with a fuel cell. Must have fixed a delivery problem too, in the process.
Picked up almost a second in the quarter.
Also changed the 4200 converter (different car) when it blew up, to a munsinger 8" that stalled 5000. Picked up a couple tenths, no huge surprise, but picked up 3-4 mph in the eighth too.
 
When I first got my Lil' 65' Cuda 318 Street car the suspension was okay but definitely needed improvement and when one of the old rear Monroe Air Shocks broke I upgraded all the way around with some Bilsteins and was astonished at the way the car behaved, becoming both Tighter and more Responsive.
 
Like 318 said putting drag radials on stopped the ice skate ring effect and made driving the car more enjoyable. Also the mini starter is pretty much a no-brainer these days...
The biggest one for me though was adding AC.. I only drive the thing when it's hot out which turns it into a miserable drive without AC.
 
Put 11x3 front front drums on my 69 road runner. Big improvement in stopping.

Put a factory front sway bar on my 69 ragtop fury. Really flattened out the turns.
 
Years ago I had a 650 double pumper with the choke horn on my hopped up 360 (this was in Colorado at high altitude). I took it apart and swapped in a 750 Proform main body and the car picked up 3 tenths of a second on the first pass down the 1/4 mile....after tuning I scrubbed another tenth off that....needless to say, I was shocked it picked up so much.
 
Put mufflers and tail pipes on and street tires. I might even put a stereo in, now that I can hear.
 
Learning how to “really” tune a Holley and like 318WR mentioned, going to a 90’s starter (and a Denso alternator while we’re at it, condensed that’s “modern electrical”) And honorable mention: installing double adjustable shocks.
 
1) stopped mocking in-closed trailer guys and bought one and LOVE it!
2) Spent the money for a professionally built engine with dyno sheets and everything and love it!
 
With as much misinformation on here as far as thermostats go......and I parroted a lot of it myself, I never would have believed the difference a 160 high flow thermostat would have made in my slant 6. It was a huge difference. As long as the tune is right, none of the hoorah preached about the lower temp thermostats is true.
 
The A-500 and 4.10 gear make for a really fun all around combo! And as mentioned above, the newer mini starter is awesome!

Cley
 
Back in 1991, my 440 strip big tyre cuda ran a best of 11.2@118+ with a stock 6pk motor, and an 850DP/single plain/hdrs/and the old .650/[email protected] cam. I changed nothing else but a pair of 2.14/1.81 template ported 906's and went 10.71@125 first pass, wasn't expecting that much, nothing astonishing but surprised me, guess if you got enough cam its gonna work good.
 
Data logger. See what you car is actually doing instead of what you think its doing.
 
Put 4 degrees Wedges in the leafsprings, to bring the pinion up.
was a complete new car! All vibrations and strange noises were simply gone
 
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