Originally posted by brianrupnow
Hi Kid---Here's my 2 cents worth. If I was after the same things you want, and money was not a major obstacle. I would definately opt for a big block engine. Not an elephant, but definately a rat---something akin to a 454 cubic inch, fed by a single 4 barrel carb, (or the newer fuel injection systems). For the tranny I would go for a minimum 4 speed, and if you can get one with overdrive for added gas mileage, well thats fine, but if this is primarily a city driven car, an overdrive is not really needed. The rearend thats in the car is probably O.K., but a 3.55:1 ratio single speed rearend is a nice gearset for what you are after. ---Check with your cars manufacturer or the aftermarket, and see if you can buy a "rallye-pack" for your suspension----stiffer springs, meatier sway bar, stiffer shocks. (and the beauty is its all bolt on, if its a rallye-pack made for your specific model of car). Any competent muffler shop can help you with the sound you are after---before you buy, ask for the name of somebody driving a car with the similar muffler package and engine and listen to it first if you can.
Well, this goes a little bit into the area of budget. I've set aside a budget of $5,000 a year. I can combine years (say over a winter) so that i'd have $10,000 to spend on bigger ticket items, but then i'm done for the year. So, I really need to have it planned out in stages. Don't know if that helps or not...thanks for the great input (keep it coming if you think of other stuff ...it's giving me a ton of research to do, but that's a very good thing.