Need some advice

[TC-X]

I'm thinking about selling my current car (97' Dodge Intrepid) and using the money i get for it to fix my caprice up. I'm trying to decide on what to do with the engine, rebuild the 305 it has, find a 350 and rebuild it, or find a bigger engine, and to go with fuel injection or carboration. I've also been thinking about buying some black rims and putting like some 235/60R-15's on it for tires, and painting the car flat black or painting it gloss black, putting an B&M Floor shift in it, and building a better tranny. Maybe redoing the rear end gears, and putting a radio in it. I want to get the best gas milage i can sence it'll be my every day driver but i also dont want it to be slow, I want it to be fast and be able to atleast do like 115 (if possable?) I want to be able to get off the line fast and have top speed a top speed of like 125 would make me extremly happy. I'll be running on a small budget but i can save my money and do what needs done right, so money isn't a huge issue... Any advice or suggestions would be great thank you ahead of time!

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by TC-X

I'm thinking about selling my current car (97' Dodge Intrepid) and using the money i get for it to fix my caprice up. I'm trying to decide on what to do with the engine, rebuild the 305 it has, find a 350 and rebuild it, or find a bigger engine, and to go with fuel injection or carboration. I've also been thinking about buying some black rims and putting like some 235/60R-15's on it for tires, and painting the car flat black or painting it gloss black, putting an B&M Floor shift in it, and building a better tranny. Maybe redoing the rear end gears, and putting a radio in it. I want to get the best gas milage i can sence it'll be my every day driver but i also dont want it to be slow, I want it to be fast and be able to atleast do like 115 (if possable?) I want to be able to get off the line fast and have top speed a top speed of like 125 would make me extremly happy. I'll be running on a small budget but i can save my money and do what needs done right, so money isn't a huge issue... Any advice or suggestions would be great thank you ahead of time!

Get a 350, you will be happier with it and it won't affect mileage too much (perhaps 1-2MPG).
Stick with whatever you have induction-wise - since I don't know what year your car is, I can't tell you what you have now, but if it's carbed it's easier to stay that way, and if it's injected, injected is better. Converting a carb to EFI involves upgrading the fuel system, installing an electric pump and blocking off the mechanical pump, and replacing your entire ECM setup with one for an EFI car, as well as an intake swap and what goes along with that. Get 3.08 gears minimum. If you want it to hit 115-125, you will need to modify the 700R4 transmission to keep it in OD while under acceleration. Also, black is good:



Above all, make certain you have good tires that are designed to go that fast, and don't be stupid with the speed.

[TC-X]

I have an 89' Caprice. I will find me a 350 engine, i will stick to the fuel injection. My dad says i need to put a 350 turbo tranny in it. We have one in our blazer and holy hell does it shift hard and it's hella strong. The picture of that caprice is almost exactly how i want mine to look just with out all the crome and red. I wont be stupid with speed, i just like knowing the fact that i can go that fast, and when some kid in a little civic pulls up next to me i wanna be able to beat him with out alot of effort..

[GreyGoose006]

nice car...

[mike561]

Silicon 212, your car looks niiiiccceeee, thats exactly how i want to have mine look when im done, black with red pinstripe looks great on these cars, and finish it off with some dual exhaust tips on the back. i'll probably get the same size wheels as yours only in a chrome finish though, something along this line:

[silicon212]

The red is not pinstripe, it is reflective 1" Scotchlite tape. The wheels are NASCAR style D-windows, made by Unique/Cragar, and identical to American Racing AR767 style wheels. That picture above was taken by me at about 5pm MST tonight, exactly 15 minutes before I went to Discount Tire and got the center caps for them (which were on backorder). The color below the red Scotchlite is Krylon Truck Pewter, from a rattle can. It has a matte finish, which contrasts nicely with the glassy black. The camera I used really sucks - the car looks better than in the picture.

[TC-X]

mike561, that car looks amazing! I want my car to look like that now. What is it that makes that car look so good, the wheels and tires? I dunno it just looks amazing!

[TC-X]

I was wondering is it posable to take off the crome piece at the bottem of the doors and the rest of the car? I'd really like to take that part off i'm not real big on crome, and mine is all dented up from when i slid into the ditch a couple months ago

[mike561]

yeah i think its the high quality and the glossy paint on that car that really "wows" you when you look at it. im sure yours looks just as good too Silicon212. i think you can take off the chrome but besure to do it before any painting of course, because there will be holes behind where the chrome was

[TC-X]

well i dont think i'll be getting any painting done for a wile, but i was thinking about taking them off ahead of time. Will i have to worrie about that spot rusting out if i take them off sense their will be holes there?

[mike561]

You could take them off, but may want to bondo over the holes though, thats what i'd do. it may not look very good but it will keep from rusting and any water from getting inside the door too.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by TC-X

I was wondering is it posable to take off the crome piece at the bottem of the doors and the rest of the car? I'd really like to take that part off i'm not real big on crome, and mine is all dented up from when i slid into the ditch a couple months ago

Originally Posted by mike561

You could take them off, but may want to bondo over the holes though, thats what i'd do. it may not look very good but it will keep from rusting and any water from getting inside the door too.

mike561 is right to mention about bondoing over the holes if you decide to remove any trim. I'd go ahead and remove the trim if you desire. I used to do that back in the '80s and early '90s whenever I bought a car to fix up. Living in NY I always found rust forming behind the trim as the trim would trap debris such as pine needles, small stone dust,and rotting leaves. Add to that the heavy salt usage on the roads in the winter and the moisture that gets trapped there adds to the problem. You also might want to check the surface underneath where the trim was to see if any other rust is starting to form and lightly sand the area to remove the rust and either treat the area with a rust preventative or spray some primer over the area to protect it. I always liked the look of a car when the trim has been removed, and since many of the cars I bought back then were missing pieces, having it all off made the car look better. Some people refer to the removal of trim from a vehicle as "shaving", and some even go farther by removing the door handles.