I would look at getting all the weight I could get on the right rear tires by moving the battery, fuel cell over and so on I added another group 27 battery in my old pump gas (3450 lbs. with me in it) 1971 Duster to help it run faster, especially at the track. It was NHRA legal to 10.00 and I ended up getting kick off at Woodburn 1/4 track for running 9.99 ET through the complete 3.0 inch exhaust system with the air cleaner on
My motor started off as a 511 C.I. 400 block stroker motor with 906 iron heads, 9.25 to 1 compression ratio and a low deck six pack set up, it ended up being 4.375 bore with a 4.300 stroke crank (517 C.I.) and a set of M.W. port size Indy SR heads(10.78 to 1 comp. ratio) with a matching 4500 Indy 400-3 intake and a 1050 CFM Holley Dominator carb.
It was a ladder bar car with coil overs from day one though, I never drove that car with leaf springs