Mods- So where do I start?

[bluehevn]

I bought a really nice '84 this past summer. The car and engine have been well cared for. The engine has about 48000 miles on it.

Its pretty quick for a stock setup but I'd like that "little bit extra". I've looked at some of the mods available and there doesn't seem to be much thats available for the Crossfire engines.

I want to make some mods that can be easily reversed should I ever decide to sell the car (yeah.. like thats going to happen) or decide to become a "Purist" and return it to stock and maybe shoot for an NCRS award.

So....
Since I'm kinda new at this can some of you folks help get me pointed in the right direction?

Many thanks in advance!

GT

 

[Blue82]

I own an 82 and the best info you will find on a Crossfire is at http://www.crossfire.webhop.net/

 

[c4fan]

If you want to get more seat-of-the-pants acceleration I would go with a gear change. From everything I have learned here at CAC it is one of the best ways of making your car quicker without touching the engine. I'm planning on going to 307 gears when I can afford it. Your engine will turn a little faster and gas mileage will go down slightly(depending how much you keep your foot in it) but not a great deal unless you go to a higher ratio. There are a couple of earlier threads in this forum from just a couple weeks ago about the subject. You should check them out. Of course the standard mods such as exhaust, chip and air cleaner will help without going into the engine. I'm not sure what all is available for the Crossfire but I use to buy parts for my Jeep at turbocity.com and they sell parts for the crossfire. You can learn tons from the members here at CAC and it seems like somebody will have an answer for any question you can come up with. Good luck.

 

[Edmond]

I would do the exhaust first because you can hear it so you get the improved result and you can actually realize it. There are a lot of exhaust options and it depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend.

 

[WhalePirot]

I'd like that "little bit extra"

That's how I started with my '84 Z-51, 4+3. It now sports a port injected 406 that'll dust a Z06 or Viper. <Not recommended project, tho.>

I have the (sorta) stock parts available, as I have finally given up on the thought of ever going back to stock.

These TRACO takeoff headers are good enough to be cleaned and hot-coated, as we get NO exhaust rusting in CA. I also have oversized throttle bodies with the stock intake, K&N plus heads that have been flowed and oversized for bigger valves. I also have the cat-back Y with Flowmasters. I fully approve of them!

I've been to Turbo City and they have very little for the Xfire. Also, there is no way to enlarge the intake openings, which really limits RPM.

This RPM limitation was why I was NOT happy with the change from 3.07s to 3.73 gears. I am little better off with this high revving engine, as first gear is ALL wheelspin. That's okay, as the stock Super T-10 tranny would be the casualty with tires stickier than my 315-35x17s.

You can do some mild mods, like headers, heads and the exhaust. Once I got into the cam though, my ECM never was right (too rich), despite repeated visits to a great chip guy. The initial mods may please you for a while, but you'll want more power soon, if you're like me.

Dick Guldstrand told me, years ago, to buy an '86 or newer, for TPI. The changeover from X-fire is just too huge of a project! Hard-headed-me liked my cherry, white beauty, so I did what I did. Man, was he ever right!

Think it through carefully. The stock car is a lot of fun and only mondo dinero will make it a lot faster. How much do you want to spend?