this might not be in the right section to post in, but what do you guys think are the best things to do first as far as modifying for speed/horsepower goes? my friend told me i should get headers, swap a carb for the fuel injectors, and do some weight reduction, take out back seats, carpeting, a/c compressor, power steering etc. what are the first things i can do to improve horsepower without spending a whole lot of money??

 

You have a 20 year old car. The first things you should do is more or less A FULL TUNE UP! How many miles do you have on it? Here is a list:

Spark plugs, Plug wires, Dist Cap & rotor, Air filter, Fuel filter, Check to make sure you don't have any soft codes.

Then you need to realize you can have 700HP, But if you can't get it to the ground than it's pointless. Look at the stickys on the top of the fourms, and read them. A lot of useful info is there. The first thing to UPGRADE would be to get some SFC's for your Maro.

 

what are SFCs?

 

Sub frame connectors.

As the adage goes: Fast, reliable, cheap. Pick 2 it's not the third.

 

Here's a repost of what I put in a different thread. This is just a general guide to get you started, not the definitive answer:

Get your steering, suspension and brakes up to snuff before you start diving into the power mods.

Obviously, I don't know what kind of shape your car is currently in, but a safe guess is that it needs some general maintenance first.

The upside is two-fold: You can tackle it a bit at a time for minimal cost, and you can gain some skills and knowledge working on your car. So, when you get to the inevitable 350 swap you will have a nice, solid base to work on and the corresponding skills/knowledge to ease the process.

As a general guide, I'll offer this:

1. Full Tune-up on the engine - wires, plugs, distributor cap, rotor, coolant flush, etc.
2. Replace steering components up front with good Moog parts.
3. Replace suspension components with new springs, struts/shocks, bushings, ball joints (Moog parts again).
4. Rebuild/replace/repair ALL brake components.
5. Sub-frame connectors.
6. Wonderbar.
7. Full exhaust - headers back to the tailpipes.
8. Intake
9. 3.42 posi rear-end gears swap
10. Computer tuning kit - I prefer the EBL system, but check the TBI forum.
11. Now you are ready to start making power.

 

With everything they said.

 

damn thats a pretty extensive list, i'll get started on that asap

 

that's just their preferences. Not necessarily what needs to be done to the car. it really just depends what you want to do with it.