One ov the cheapest, bestest-ever things you can buy for your rod is a die-grinder. Learn to port heads. Hell, learn to port. Lots ov info here on how to do it right. From messin' with deflashing to full-out head porting, polishing chambers, porting manifolds, port-matching, porting exhaust manifolds (tho' i strongly recommend headers), lightening up a block, stress-relieving, polishing rods, etc. SOOOO many things you can do to make that thing faster with a die-grinder.

I'm a firm believer in weight reduction. It helps everything, generally makes the car more efficient as well, handling, braking, etc.

Mandrel bent exhaust is easy to build and cheap if you know where to find cheap pipe. Swap meets have cheap dented up Flowmasters or better. Headers aren't hard to find used, or can be cheap new (i dont mean cheap crap, avoid that stuff). There is absolutely NO reason why you can replicate that fancy $500 aftermarket system for far less yourself if you can weld. Hell, i've got a veritable pile ov used diesel truck exhausts ready to cut up for my 3" mandrel X-pipe Newport exhaust. The whole deal will be around $100 done, manifolds back. Or $100 from headers to tips if i can make those Hedman shorties fit (they were free...Hah!). Exhaust is a good thing in SOOOOOOOOO many ways.

Used tires. Ask twenty people who know tires and cars what the biggest tire possible is you can fit on your buggy and then go two sizes wider. Buy cheap, used Mustang 17 or 18" rims and some spacers so you can find used 275's, 285's and 295's, even 315's without spending a lot. Used drag radials are easier to find in 17" sizes and the normal Z-rated tires are stickier than your 295/50/15's guaranteed. Not to mention that 17" tires will instantly make your car handle like its 20 years newer without changing anything else. For pure drag racing i see cheap used slicks everywhere.

Learn to tune, like really tune. Tuning can be as cheap as the price ov gas. Its amazing how many hot rodders are ripping around with the wrong jets in the carb or the wrong curve in the distributor.

If you've got something actually worth money, that you can live without (say those year-correct 15x7 rally's that your car DIDN'T come with), sell it and buy some used aluminum heads from Moparts ads or E-bay. Probably the best speed deal out there... used aluminum heads. They pop up infrequently. Sell something you can get back later.

Dont be afraid (or peer-pressured) into sticking with Mopar stuff when other parts are handy and cheaper. Gotta toss that 7 1/4"" rear? Put an 8.8 Mustang diff in there, its already got a posi and rear discs, and cheeeaaap. How about some neat import bucket seats? They look better, recline and weigh a lot less than Mopar stuff. SBC water pumps (??? i heard that somewhere, lots ov aftermarket ???). So many options...

Want some REEAALLLY cheap speed? It'll cost you a bunch ov mickey-mouse fabrication and a lot ov reading and internet searches, but how about a junkyard turbo set-up? They're getting easier to find out there now that cars are bigger and faster than they were for years, lots ov turbos out there. People have rigged systems up for peanuts making stupid power.

I am the warrior ov the wasteland and the emperor ov cheap. I could go on forever...

Try clamping the rear leaf springs in the forward section. Some heavy duty flat bar, some drill bits and off you go. Buying the bolts is the most expensive part.

Then I second weight reduction. The cheapest horsepower is the horsepower you do not need. I do not know about A Bodies but the weight of a B-Body heater box is impressive, plus it cleans up the engine room getting rid of the hoses etc. not only do you eliminate the weight of the box you also eliminate the weight of the entrained water. You can always put it back in for the winter if it is a year round driver(I did not notice where you live). Remove the spare and jack when you are at the track

Take the back seat out when you go to the track. You're racing,not going on a date.

A swap meet aluminum intake manifold will probably flow better and certainly weigh less than the stock intake manifold. The small block guys will have to chime in on what to get or more importantly, what to avoid.

Keep tuning on the thing. Have you made sure the rotor is in phase? DRAM told me how to do that and the car definitely runs smoother. Really play with the timing in terms of the balance between initial and full. Confirm that the timing marks are correct, that TDC really is TDC.

After you have put the home made headers on that someone suggested, try dropping the exhaust and using collector extensions at the track. Just a piece of straight pipe (start with 24" long, it is easier to make them shorter) and some flanges. I had a shop here make me up a set for not much coin. I think the homemade header/exhaust is a great idea. You will learn welding skills and being able to route the headers exactly as you want them will be a great benefit.

Make sure the whole approach is balanced, which just requires brain power. Simple example, 2.25" headers on a 273 with a 1 bbl carb would be an example of an unbalanced combination. Thinking through what you want the engine to do will help you make decisions in terms of what to get and what to pass on.

Did I mention weight reductions?

Noticed you still have points. I had a 69 Dart GT w/a 273. I used to set the Dwell to spec. at 1500 rpm to counter point float. The LD340 is too big for that engine, the LD4B is a better choice if you can find one. I've seen ideas on here I'm going to try myself. Great thread.

See all of this stuff is awesome advice, the ld340 is the only thing i had avalible and it will get changed out when funds allow. Take out the backseat when i race? haha i plan on having it out 24/7...might go in for certain reasons but for the most part i wont need it. newer buckets is something i planned on since mine are shot. Ive thought about playing with a dye grinder but im afraid ill mess something up...maybe when i pull the motor ill play with it and see what happens. When i get a scoop ill definatly be making the air pan, and we have about 40ft of 2 1/2 stainless tubing in the garage so i should be able to conjure up something with that.

spending time on research is how i save dough. all it costs is time, and if you're patient, you not only learn a lot, but you find good deals, and tend to make the appropriate purchases the first time. research, research, research.

someone here told me stickers make a car 60' better

[quoteWow talk about living in a cave.

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I'd get it hittin' on all 8 RELIABLY first!

Get a cheapie smallblock electronic distributor (I see them for $5 at swap meets), take it apart, clean the weights and mechanism really well, order Mr. Gasket part #925-B quick advance springs ($11.00 at Autozone last I checked)and get a nylon collar for the bottom from Lowes (the factory ones are either broke or really brittle and ready to break) in the hardware section. Set your reluctor gap with a BRASS feeler gauge at 11 thou and you're ready to go.

The great thing is you can use it either with the chrome/factory ECU box or you can use it with an MSD 6AL box. I like to use the MSD because it has a rev limiter, cleans up the idle and can be bought and most any parts store.

There! Cheap, easy, will get you better dependability and can be used with future upgrades.