$100, what would you do? (long)

[tkelly27]

my aunt is giving me money to get her '89 plymouth horizon some more power. Actually, I think she's in the market for more torque and economy because she does a lot of low RPM highway driving. Anyways, my theory is that, to a point, adding performance can add to gas mileage as well. Today she gave me $100 to play with, which buys a lot in the TBI world. Shopping list for tommorow
pressure wash engine at do it yourself car wash $5
new can of fast orange $5
valve cover gasket $15
new timing belt
180* thermostat with the 1/16ths hole drilled in it $8
muffler/exhuast system from a V6/turbo car/minivan at junkyard $5-20?
TBI manifold and TBI unit at junkyard $30?
that gets me to $88-$103 and busy for a few days. Anything you guys can think of to get or modify? I plan on getting the oil leak from the valve cover fixed before anything. Before I change the timing belt I'm going to see if I can get some offset cam keys. Thermostat change should be a piece of cake. I don't want the exhuast to be offensively loud, just a little more growl than it has now when I get on it. I figure if I don't like the way it sounds I can just put the old one back on. I'm getting pretty good at manipulating pipes so getting them to fit should be ok, what years have the best size pipes? I'm getting the TBI manifold and unit because I'm going to gasket match the intake to the extra cylinder head I have and then go over the TBI unit with carb cleaner and such so its like brand new then pop it on one afternoon. Also with the extra head I have laying around I'm going to start making a header, probably tommorow if I get some time. Any reccomendations about primary sizes? hehe, can't wait to get into suspension and braking mods. When its all said and done it should be a fun little car. Thanks for reading all of that, and thanks even more for helpfull replies
-Tom

[aerosmith145]

exhaust? you don't need an exhaust...

a hacksaw will work just fine for the job

[tkelly27]

hehe, I liked the way gary donovans hacksaw modded exhaust sounded, but this is a daily driver and if its too loud she won't like it. edit: *found 10 other threads that explain which exhaust is best, thanks*

[22dodge]

there's NOT one thing on your list that will increase performance. Start with a tune up, air filter, synthetic engine oil etc. or for the $100 pull her head, have it milled .030-.060" this will increase compression and still let her car run on mid-grade pump gas. there is her power increase.

[RPMurph]

^ 22dodge knows ALOT about these cars and i agree with what he has to say

start out with a basic tune-up plugs, cap, rotor, air filter, oil...maybe try like platinum plugs, mobile1 synthetic oil...i know the K&N filters are kinda expensive but if ya post it on the parts wanted section ya might be able to get one for cheap i know a couple people have extras....also to add on the list of is a can of power foam / seafoam/ ccc ya spray it into the TB and it cleans the builtup carbon out of the cylinders....theres a couple threads about this too i think int engine-general

next i would go with the easier stuff like adding 1 spacer between the TB and intake manifold and 2 or 3 between the TB and airbox (you can check out my thread i stared fot that) and do the thermostat thing

after that i mill the head...but if ya got that extra head laying around get that milled while you doin the other things

a larger exhaust would kinda be working against ya i think......it would lower your low end torque but raise you high end HP....fo more low end i would leave it as it is

[tkelly27]

I've already done all the tuneup stuff (oil, filter, plugs, cap, rotor, TB cleaner, fuel additive, oil additive), just did the TB spacer today. I trust you guys since you've been doing it longer than I have, but it seems to not make sense that a bigger than stock exhuast will give up lower end for top end. Thats probably because I'm used to V8's puffing through single exhuasts and then stepping up to duals. I'd rather not mill the head, thats permanent and if she dosn't like it I can't take that back. Thanks for the input
-Tom

[B.A.P.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkelly27 pressure wash engine at do it yourself car wash $5 new can of fast orange $5 valve cover gasket $15

I wouldn't be adding that stuff to the list of making more power.

BOOM! 25% of your budget gone and no mo go...

[RPMurph]

i understand totally with the head being permanent thing and all

as fothe exhaust...backpressure in the exhaust help create more torque...with a larger diameter/freer flowing exhaust its harder to make that back pressure which means it makes less torque.....your exhaust is currently 1-7/8...i hear goin to 2" you wolnt lose too muh torque but anything larger is noticable.....with the V8's they usually have double the displacement at least(i have a 2.5l which is the bigger of the I4's V8 go from from 5.0 to 7.4 normally) so thats a whole lot more displacement and if ya do a ratio setup...2.5l:1-7/8" then 5.7l:3" the v8's have a much more restrictive exhaust for their size...if you havent figured out that im drunkenly rambling on about this yet and are still reading........the V6's i think came with a 2.25" exhaust which would probly be a lil large but if ya want to just gran it from the JY for $20 to expiriment i think it would be worth it if ya have that money to spare after doin you definate powergetting mods done

and also that powerfoam stuff really helps...that stuff that makes the cloads of somke out of the exhaust...not just carb cleaner will do it ya need the real stuff....when your getting so much stuff out of your engine that its causeing enuf smoke for the school bus in front of you to stop you knows it working right

also did ya go with the paper or K&N filter when ya did the tune up part?

[capev86]

find a guy willing to give you a 2.5 and parts for swap - bigger engine = more power = same gas and gas mileage. other thing would be a manual tranny if it doesn't already have one. a stick and hi-test gas would be a no-no with your aunt i'd guess! but a 2.5 will make a difference, especially in a little omni!!!

[Aries_Turbo]

swap the intake out for a 1-piece turbo intake, get 14lb/hr high impedance fuel injectors (i think from a ford probe N/A... 14*4-56 and stock is a single 52lb/hr im pretty sure) and swap out the fuel pump for a higher pressure one.. some guys just run the stock pump and say it works ok at the higher pressure so you might not have to do this. wire the fuel injectors all in parallel to the original fuel injector wiring. that will give you some more power for cheap.

Brian

[tkelly27]

Aries_Turbo that is a rad idea, I'll have to try that with my extra ECU in case it burns it up, but I will definately give that a try. I know all the little things done so far have helped tremendously, it definatly dosn't feel like a 280k mile car anymore. It makes sense about the exhuast, posting drunk is fun : ) I'll grab the powerfoam/seafoam on my next trip to the parts store. Thanks a lot
-Tom

[88-16V-Lebaron]

Find a complete Neon 3-speed auto trans and a 2.4l motor with a bad head gasket for $100 for both. Swap out the motor, put a new headgasket on. Put the motor trans in and play with fuel system to get the right F/A mixture.

[RPMurph]

wow ... you understood what i was saying.....is that .....good?

[The S is Silent]

You might be able to get a V6 and drop it in I think that would be rad in a little omni...I just don't know if it would fit. What am I talking about...you can make it fit

[92lebaronGTC]

The low end torque of the 3.0 would be sweet in an omni.