1966 sport fury upgrades

[Canadian_fury66]

Hi I recently bought a 1966 sport fury with the 383 commando. My question is what are some reasonably priced upgrades for it. Exhaust wise I'm keeping either the stock manifolds or trying to find some hp manifolds that will work with it then running 2.5 tubes into glass packs. I'm looking more into reasonable priced engine upgrades engine wise like the cam or carb or anything to get more oomf out of her. Any help is greatly appreciated. Also the scoops are fake but was considering making them real or cutting in one large one.

 

[CBODY67]

Nice looking car. What has already been done to the engine (other than the intake and carb that are obvious?).

ONE thing to do soon is to get that braided fuel line away from the rh exhaust manifold. It might look good as it is, but WHERE it is can be a big concern. Getting it back to a factory routing would be best, similar to the OEM Carter AFB/later AVS fuel line routing.

Braided line might look good, having that "hot rod custom look", but also remember that inside of that braid is a simple rubber line which can be deteriorated by ethanol'd fuels just as an exposed rubber hose fuel line might. Hard line is best, which you can then polish with red Scotchbrite to a nice sheen, almost chrome-like.

Cold Air Induction can be problematic. Read the Mopar Performance Race Manual on hood scoops and how to ensure they give the performance boost which are expected of them. As it turns out, without about 30 square inches of openning, most of the OEM scoops were a bit lacking in that respect. Many added "visual horsepower". Plus, they can irrigate your carb and incoming air in the rain or after a car wash, IF they are not correctly drained and/or baffled. Just cutting a hole in the hood is not enough . . . especially when air flow over the car is considered, which led to the popularity of cowl induction and rear-facing scoops in the later 1960s, which worked well.

Before starting to spend money on the car, drive it and learn how it works, first. Get used to it. THEN you can determine what might need to be done, as an evolutionary process that can result in more efficient use of funds, by observation.

Welcome and enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[413]

What is the rear end gear ratio? What kind of driving do you do? Freeway trips, or just around town. Gear ratio is a huge thing to improve acceleration. But you don’t want 3.91 gears if you are going on freeway trips.

Light weight wheels and tires. A 15x8 steel wheel is 30 lbs each. And then “I want the biggest ties that will fit on the car” All this rotating weight has to be spun up by engine power and stopped by the brakes. It really does slow down the acceleration of the car.

What cooling fan is on the car? This is another power robbing part.

Agree that fuel line needs to be changed.

those scoops are way to small to flow any air so don’t bother making them function.

 

[Canadian_fury66]

As far as gearing ratio I have no idea most likely the original that came with it and as far as driving it'll be some highway for cruises but mostly around the city to car shows n such I just want to get the most out of her that I can ... tire wise she has 17 inch american racing rims with 235/60/17 firestone indy500 that I just put on it other than the rims they were on when I bought it

 

[CBODY67]

If it is an orig 383 4bbl car, most probably a 3.23 rear end ratio. Look for metal tag on one of the "pumpkin" bolts. 3.23 makes a decent compromise ratio between highway/Interstate speed limit driving and off-idle acceleration in town. Drive it and enjoy it!

 

[LocuMob]

If your keeping the log manifolds and plan on getting new exhaust, if you know someone who can do a 2.5" system for cheap, go that route. Or use tti like mentioned in your other thread. I have the 2.5" system on a 66 Polara 500 and it fits very well. The pipes are mandrel bent, so no kinks in the bends.

The car came with either a 270hp two barrel, or a 325hp four barrel. A picture of the fender tag should clarify that.

3.23 gears were standard with either 383, a 2.76 was optional. Easy to tell the difference at highway speed.

A cam swap can give the car a little oomph. Plenty of modern grinds that give a little better mileage vs the old school cams, while improving power. It won't be that much difference in the end, unless you go with a big cam. Then that opens the door for a new convertor so the car still moves the way it should, and won't fall flat on its face.

Car looks nice, I like the color and all the chrome. Scoops are cute, but I'd lose them, or move them out further to the side, like they were on the GTX they were made for.

Have fun with the car.

 

[MEV]

The line appears to be real braided line which is actually very good. I would support it from the fenderwell to keep it from vibrating on the hardline that runs to the carb, or extend the flexible portion and eliminate the hard line all together but keep it away from the manifold. That line is in a much cooler location than the stock routing which runs behind the alternator along the block and gets significant heat soak.

The only performance gain you would realize is long tube headers from tti. Depending on what other modifications were made to the motor they may be very small gains for the large price of tge tti's

 

['66 Fury I]

Beautiful car! Unless i'm mistaken, that looks like a single pot master cylinder. If so, my top priority would be switching to a dual and splitting the system. Lack of power is nowhere as disappointing as lack of brakes. Also the ammeter bypass can prevent an unwanted barbeque event! Wishing you years of miles and smiles! Lindsay

 

[volksworld]

i wouldnt bother with HP cast iron manifolds...too little performance increase for the bucks...especially on a car thats no longer "stock appearing" under the hood with your aluminum radiator, manifold, valve covers, braided stainless line etc...headers will flow lots better