1969 thunderbird w/429 thunderjet

Hey guys new guy here. I always wanted to have a sweet street rod, and when my grandfather gave me his 1969 Thunderbird a few months ago I figured that would do. She's got 58,000 original miles and is absolutely beautiful. Been garaged for the last 20 or so years. It's in the shop right now getting new gas tank, gas lines, carb cleaned, new radiator etc. I am totaly new to the performance car thing, been a truck man. What I'm wanting to know is how to get some speed out of her. From what I have heard is that thunderbirds were not built for speed and aren't very quick. I would like to try and keep it as original as possible. I would appreciate any and all suggestions in this matter. I also have a few pics of her online if you want to check it out at-http://www.geocities.com/mooseforuse/car.html

Biggest problem is the weight of the car, '69 T-Birds are heavy cars !! Lots of performance parts for the 429's are available, Edelbrock makes aluminum heads for it that work work quite well with their performer RPM package. Doubt it will ever be a drag race rocket, but you can sure make it into a great cruizer.

A 1969 Thunderbird had a great engine from the factory, rated at about 360HP or so. The heads on that engine, properly ported, have supported over 600HP on 460's and more than 700HP on stroker motors (max effort applications).

Bolt on parts, such as a nice Holley 750 carb and aluminum intake, aftermarket distributor and unrestriced exhaust will wake that baby up notably.

Paul