From there, I knew that it was time to get serious about some other things. I installed a FAST EZ-EFI on my Weiand dual quad intake, and had to get a little creative since the bolt patterns didn't match from intake to throttle body. This two inch spacer was perfect:
So the EFI was test-fit, and it was close, but it was going to work:
I got the EFI installed, and surprisingly it improved not only the MPG, but I also gained about 20 RWHP:
The brakes needed to upgraded before I went out on the track, I had installed a Mopar front disc brake upgrade, but I needed something better, so I went to a four-wheel disc setup from Master Power Brakes:
The next step was to upgrade the suspension to get a little better corner carving at the track with QA1 control arms, adjustable shocks, and dynamic strut rods. I also upgraded to a Hemi torsion bar:
My first set of brakes fit inside my 15-inch cop car wheels, but since you can no longer buy 15-inch 50-series tires, I opted to step up to Weld Racinng Wheels and Mickey Thompson Street Comp tires... and bigger front brakes:
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After these upgrades, I was really starting to improve my lap times, and the car was getting a lot more fun at the track. I was starting to pass modern musclecars in the turns, like Mustangs and even some Corvettes, and keeping up with cars that should have been much faster in the turns than I am:
The steering was a little sloppy, so we upgraded to a Borgeson steering box, and removed 13 pounds, got a quicker ratio, and firmer steering:
The car was really starting to handle the turns and I was going a bit faster. My deficit was that I have about 340 HP and the gearing in the trans isn't that great... coming out of a turn, 2nd is revving too high, and 3rd is not revving high enough, but after about five trips to Willow Springs, I was able to knock about 8 seconds off my lap times. But one real issue I was dealing with was fuel slosh, so I got a custom tank made by Rick's Tanks:
I had previously installed a set of Moser axles and a Detroit Truetrac, but later installed a complete, brand new Moser Engineering 8-3/4 rearend:
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Wanting to keep better track of my engine's vitals, I opted to install a set of Dakota Digital gauges, and I'm absolutely in love with them... the functionality and the ability to program things like the speedometer, the fuel sender, etc., are awesome:
I started to notice that my track temps were rising, so I purchased a Be Cool radiator, and decided to perform a real-world test. I took my car to the track, raced a session, then came into the pits and installed the Be Cool radiator and put cooling in it for the first time, then headed back out on the track. I actually saw my on-track temperature drop from over 230º down to about 180º:
I also kept things like power steering cooled down with a Derale cooler, which dropped my in-pump fluid temperature 8º:
And with all of these electrical add-ons, I decided that rewiring the car was a good idea, and replaced the old harness with a new kit from Ron Francis Wiring:
For the past two years, I've been racing at Willow Springs with the factory bench seat and lap belt, so I decided it was time to install buckets and harnesses. Procar Lumbar Elite seats were a perfect choice for street/road racing, with Impact Racing five-point harnesses. To attach the shoulder belt, Chris Alston's Chassisworks created a new universal harness bar, inspired by my need for something removeable:
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Now the car is definitely track ready, and I just installed a 4L60E transmission that can handle my road racing, and also give me a little better MPG on the freeway: now getting about 16.5 MPG. But as projects go, I'm not finished yet and there is lots more to come.
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[video]https://youtu.be/HveEJC0mvCQ[/video]
