Posted by Mopar Man on August 06, 1998 at 23:16:43:
In Reply to: Re:some sense posted by Ron S. on August 06, 1998 at 20:11:35:
: My first question is: is your 302 properly tuned? My 'bone stock' '73 Comet with 110,000 mi (I had it in High School a 'few' years back) could ROUTINELY knock off 0-60 at about 8.5 sec. when I could keep the rear tires hooked up! It sounds like yours may need some tuning (the usual stuff, plugs,points,timing,etc.).
: The answer to your question is that YES gearing will have a LOT to do with the acceleration "numbers". The 'common' 2.79's found in a large number of V8 Mavs/Comets were terrific for low RPM highway cruising but LOUSY for "off the line" performance. Switching to the 'modest upgrade' 3.00 in my 'semi-stock' (added duals, bumped timing, K&N filter) '74 Grabber helped her to "jump" just that much quicker...I assure you that in all my years I have not been "embarrassed" by ANY "stock" 318 Dart/Valiant (won some, lost some and like previously mentioned it's mostly drivers that makes the difference ).
: I'll get off my soapbox now!
Thank you for such a helpful response. Since yours went 0-60 in 8.5, I believe that mine can too. Since mine is over 3 seconds away from this goal however, I suspect that it will take more than just a tune-up to achieve 8.5.Several questions: What was the lowest rear-end gear ratio available in '73? What gears did your '73 have? FInally, if the car runs&starts well, are there any parts that could be covered in a tune-up which would hold this car back so severely? Clogged EGR valve maybe? If I can achieve that 8.5 second time, I will be one proud Comet owner!