Hey guys, I've searched and searched more for answers and advice to the following questions. Just thought I'd go on and put up this post to see what suggestions you have. The car was totally stock and has 112K on the motor. Whatever I do add I'd like to be able to bring over to a 350 if I ever change. The car is also a 5 spd. I am not looking to build a rocket, I am married with kids, just a decent performer and get what I can out of the motor, inexpensively. I still have body and interior to do. Not gonna race, but do some shows. Heres what I've done so far:

MSD- cap and button
MSD- Blaster GM coil
MSD- 8.8mm Super conductor wires
Bosch- P2 plugs
K&N filter
Cat Converter stopped, so punched out internals
New MAF burn off and power relays
New temp coolant sensor

Planning to clean up plenum and runners when polishing. And looking to remove cat housing and either install straight pipe or glass pack. The car has a brand new 3" OEM exhaust and is way too quiet for me. If I go with the Glass Pack, I'll remove the OEM muff in the rear. If I go straight pipe, I don't know what to put in the back, but I want it loud and deep. Any suggs?
I have also looked at the BBK adjustable fuel pressure reg kit that comes with the gaskets. Anyone used this before?
I did ohm out my injectors and manual specs 11-14ohm per. All except #2 were 14ohm, it was 11ohms. Would this signal anything wrong? Maybe a weak injector coil?
Since doing the ignition and cat, the car runs decent, but feels like it is holding back until around 2200 rpm, after that its strong. Does this in all gears. One guy said that the ECM needed reprogramed to keep up with the TPS signal. I am an idiot on the ECM / PROM units, always dealt with older cars. Can I download something like tuner pro and but the ADSL cable to make changes. I have read that the Pre-burned Hypertech chips are junk. Is this true. I just need a cheap, simple way to change a few settings. I also want to lower the thermostat, 220F at idle is too hot for me!
To sum it all up, Which mods are worth the $'s and whats the cheapest way to change my ECM settings? Would like to get a faster throttle response out of her if I can do without changing the world.

 

Married with children = delayed gratification. Cheap always sounds good, rarely produces desireable results.

Don't waste your money on anything but getting proper PROM burning equipment. Check out the DIY PROM forum for hints on that (and don't ask me, all I know about it is to tell people to go there).

Exhaust is always a must on these cars. Without headers, not much else you do will produce the optimum results. The Exhaust forum is the place to go for all that.

You're down about $1200 now, so after you've finished those things, you can ask what's next!

 

Headers are probably the single largest improvement you'll see in the immediate term (and relatively hassle-free compared to a lot of the other mods). Try to get a nice tubular set. Right after headers, free-flowing cat & 3" cat-back exhaust. I don't know if you'd benefit from swapping the Y-pipe. Probably, but nmaybe not too worth it now.

A decent complete exhaust setup should run anywhere from $450+, depending on brand, size, emissions compatibility, etc...

 

Thanks guys,
Married with children & HORSES = VERY delayed gratification
I have been looking around at headers, would like to find a good used set. Don't care about coating or paint, I have a neighbor that powdercoats everything for me for free. But do want a set with air tubes and preferrably match up to the rest of the exhaust.

 

Boy, can I identify with that! I prefer my horses in groups of a hundred and under a hood. The children don't see it that way.

Powder coating doesn't work on exhaust systems. You need something higher temp, like high temp paint or ceramic coating.

Used headers are a crap shoot. New will run you around $400. If you do a cat, another $120 for direct fit - if not, a 2' piece of 3" pipe expanded to 3" ID on one end cost me $25. Cat-back about $275-$500.

 

You got horses five7kid? My wife was on the 96 olympic equestrian team and is the "horse nut" I just know they cost me alot and I have to drag them around occasionally. We did have an agreement that whatever she spent on the horses, I could spend on my cars. Worked great til I asked for receipts from one show trip. I doomed myself. Of the 77's I've built, I personally did the 400 rebuild on the first two. They were my practice cars, the last one I had IF Engineering in Charlotte NC do the motor and it dynoed at 526hp (all throttle, no bottle) and is coupled to a 4 spd Muncie with a 3:73 rear. Outrun just about anything but the Chevron or Exxon station. Theres no replacement for displacement
I bought the GTA cause I graduated HS in 89 and have always been kinda stuck in the 80's, even got Whitesnake,RATT, and Poison CD's in the car. I plan on showing the car next spring, here in GA theres a different show weekly, but it would be nice to have some more throttle under the hood. Thinking of just buying a pos 350 and rebuilding in the garage, when done, I'd drop in and add the TPI. Also what I think I may do for the cat is to cut off the bolt flange and weld it onto a straight pipe, and slip it on the inlet side. This way when I have to pass emissions next year I can locate a cheap cat and bolt up without too much trouble. After testing I can reinstall the straight pipe. No welding to the "system". Do you know of anyone using the Afterburner muffler? Looked at it and its cheap and supposedly loud direct fit.
And the powder coating my friend uses is ceramic based, I've had it on the 77's headers, valve covers, etc for three years with no probs. Looks very nice too. But thanks for the heads up Big thing now is I want a quicker throttle response. Gonna play with it more this weekend and see what I can do. This board and site has been the biggest help so far. You guys kick a$$!

 

Nice car.

Edit: Cool air, adjust TPS, new fuel filter, adjust initial timing for increased throttle response...maybe even new oxygen sensor.

 

Thanks Smithtc. Looks like you have quite a nice collection there yourself.
What part of Bama you in? I'm in Huntsville right now for business

 

Just moved back to my wifes hometown area...Dadeville, AL...north of Auburn bout 20 miles. Not too far from GA.

My wife's father has A horse...but she won't let anyone ride her.
I had some ponies growing up. Fun playing Cowboys & Indians on a pony.