Besides raising the hp - you can lose wt. Those extra htr. blowers that the 3.2L cars have up front can go. The Carreras are heavy so think about what to toss out.

I dunno if a EFI 3.2L can get to 250 hp at the crank, but it doesn't sound unreasonable. Mine has carbs and SSis tho, so I am not a good guide. I know the induction can use some work. After you improve the exhaust, you will want to do the induction and can then remap the DME. But what will the smog people say about your changes?

 

Fixn... keeping the girlfriend warm is your job... BTW, once she finds out how loud the car is, she won't ride in it anyway, so you're home free.

Guys.... lets face it... if you want to make the girlfriends happy, buy a Camry, and take dancing lessons.

 

I have the GTI for the cold weather anyway and I'm working on my smog license as we speak, so as I said the visual is no prob. I've thought about bumping the compression but with the 91 mule **** we have for premium I dont think its a good idea at this point, I also thought of ponying up for twin plugging as long as the heads are off for future use.

Does anyone in CA use the motronic piggyback and know if it will pass emissions?

 

Definitely have the heads drilled for twin-plugging while they are off. about $400 - you can spend the big bucks later (or not go any further).

YOu can run about 10 to 10.5 with twin plugs. And you can increase the plug gaps -- see Steve W's web site for more info.

Also, the cost of doing the ignition for a twin plug setup might be going down -- check out the recent thread at Pelican re the Jag dist. caps.

 

wow, that looks very promising indeed, I'm basically going to build it right so hopefully it wont need to come apart for another 20 years so I think I will have the heads done at the same time

heres a link for the JAG TWIN PLUGGING for the not so googley capable.

 

For a 3.2 it is probably easier just to use a 964 distributor. I saw one used with wires at a swap meet a couple months ago for $250. You would still need the splitter from Andial (~$600) and a second coil in any case.

You could even swap the distributor back to stock every 2 years for smog checks, just keep your foot out of it to and from the test.

Tom

 

Check Triad exhausts out
http://www.triadwestperformance.com/
and look at this too
http://www.triadwestperformance.com/...CRANEY_TXT.htm

 

Might you just take a couple of minutes, sit back with a cold Spaten Optimater and decide what you are really going to use the car for over the next few years. Track % vs street % to start. That could help you determine $$$ vs fun factor and HP vs reliability. In CA there are limits on engine stuff, so dropping a few lbs = upping the HP. Maybe ousting the a/c, rear seats, crap in the boot, insulation, etc might be a positive cost-effectivness factor. The old adage still holds: how fast = how much money you want to spend now and (sooner or) later. How much money will it take? All of it.
Just my US$0.02
john

 

fixnprsh
In our '84 trans we went from the stock 8:31 to a 7:31. Left the 1-4 gears stock and put in a "73 5th gear. Made a big difference, especially at the bottom end.
'73 targa w/3.2 SSI & sport muffler, SW chip.

 

This car is not going to be a daily driver, It will be a weekend canyon carver, and see track days for fun every now and then. Im still waiting to get my costs finalized at the machine shop so I can start seeing how much of a budget I have left for other stuff. I will go in logical order doing important stuff first and saving easy stuff like exhaust to later if I run out of my budget.

 

I had a test pipe and gutted stock muffler and got within 3 hp of my current SSIs and Monty single out. The mid range torque is only slightly better as well with SSIs.

So, you can save yourself some cash with stock heater boxes, a $100 test pipe, then get an old stock muffler, open it up and take some of the crap out and maybe weld a twin pipe on for looks. It'll sound great too.

 

Mine is an 84 Targa, 3.2L with 99,900 miles. I live in VA so the smog/emissions concerns are out the window. So . . . what are my options for performance increase?

Reg

 

Well all my machining is done, all moving parts are balanced to race specs, all new upgraded valve springs, guides, raceware studs, everything has been completely inspected by Neil (for those of you unfarmiliar with them they do alot of stuff for Porsche and BMW)
Performance Developments I'll take some pics during assembly

 

Since one is planning to spend $5k+ on upgrades only, why not go the 964 transplant way with the 915 box ? That way you end up with factory 250 BHP and plenty of mods available. The performance and drivability & reliability would be better too. Just my idea

 

because for the sake of originality, the great state of california and thier smog rules (not saying it cant be done but I dont want the head ache), 964's are notorious oil leakers. so I'll have a killer fresh 3.2 that will go 200K + and I'm hoping for 250hp