New Guy w/ '81 Dodge Mirada
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Joined: Aug 2005
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New Guy w/ '81 Dodge Mirada
Hello all,
My name's Justin and I'm pretty new to cars, but ready and eager to take the time to learn. I bought an 81 Dodge Mirada at the beginning of the summer. The thing is in beautiful condition and it says 94,000 miles (it's only 5 digits, but from the condition I think that it hasn't turned over yet). I want to turn this car into a decent powerhouse, without completely killing the mileage (one of my friends has a GTO that he's getting <5 mpg on right now....not what I want, lol). It is a 318 V8 with a 2bbl carb that's rated at 130 horsepower.
Well, I've had the car for around 3 months now and I've got a bunch of pics up at my website: http://www.fugitivethought.com/projects/mirada. The school year is starting up again so I won't be able to do any real work on the car for a while again, but I want to plan out what I'm going to do next summer so I can put together a budget for it and have it all ready when I actually have the time to put into it.
I figure I need headers, and most likely dual exhaust on it to decrease the exhaust pressure. I hear that can actually increase mileage a bit, and I know it boosts performance significantly from the standard exhaust manifold. Will any hooker headers for a mopar 318 work? JCWhitney's has some I was looking at. Also they have a dual exhaust kit. What do you all recommend as a good place to get these?
I also want to upgrade the carburetor from the 2bbl Carter to a 4 bbl Holley. I've done calculations based on engine size, and I think I'm going to need around a 600 cfm; but like I said, I'm new to this, so can anybody tell me if this would be about the right size? The Mirada came with a 4bbl option in California, and the 318 w/ a 4bbl was rated at 165 horsepower, so that's a nice boost right there. I figure that the carburetor change will lower my mileage some, but I have a fairly light foot for everyday driving, so it shouldn't be too bad. The two places I have looked at for carb's are JCWhitney and PartsAmerica. Anyone have any other good recommendations? If I'm upgrading the carburetor I'll need a new intake manifold as well; I was looking at a single plane Edelbrock from partsamerica. Any recommendations on where to get one for a good price or even which one to get?
Also on the intake side, I hear K&N air filters are recommended for performance, so I guess easier breathing is good all around. In your experiences are K&N's worth the cost?
Finally, if I get really ambitious I might take the engine apart and put in a new cam shaft. This is one thing that I have not been able to find. Does anyone have a good place to purchase aftermarket performance cam's brand new for this engine?
Thanks for any help,
Justin
My name's Justin and I'm pretty new to cars, but ready and eager to take the time to learn. I bought an 81 Dodge Mirada at the beginning of the summer. The thing is in beautiful condition and it says 94,000 miles (it's only 5 digits, but from the condition I think that it hasn't turned over yet). I want to turn this car into a decent powerhouse, without completely killing the mileage (one of my friends has a GTO that he's getting <5 mpg on right now....not what I want, lol). It is a 318 V8 with a 2bbl carb that's rated at 130 horsepower.
Well, I've had the car for around 3 months now and I've got a bunch of pics up at my website: http://www.fugitivethought.com/projects/mirada. The school year is starting up again so I won't be able to do any real work on the car for a while again, but I want to plan out what I'm going to do next summer so I can put together a budget for it and have it all ready when I actually have the time to put into it.
I figure I need headers, and most likely dual exhaust on it to decrease the exhaust pressure. I hear that can actually increase mileage a bit, and I know it boosts performance significantly from the standard exhaust manifold. Will any hooker headers for a mopar 318 work? JCWhitney's has some I was looking at. Also they have a dual exhaust kit. What do you all recommend as a good place to get these?
I also want to upgrade the carburetor from the 2bbl Carter to a 4 bbl Holley. I've done calculations based on engine size, and I think I'm going to need around a 600 cfm; but like I said, I'm new to this, so can anybody tell me if this would be about the right size? The Mirada came with a 4bbl option in California, and the 318 w/ a 4bbl was rated at 165 horsepower, so that's a nice boost right there. I figure that the carburetor change will lower my mileage some, but I have a fairly light foot for everyday driving, so it shouldn't be too bad. The two places I have looked at for carb's are JCWhitney and PartsAmerica. Anyone have any other good recommendations? If I'm upgrading the carburetor I'll need a new intake manifold as well; I was looking at a single plane Edelbrock from partsamerica. Any recommendations on where to get one for a good price or even which one to get?
Also on the intake side, I hear K&N air filters are recommended for performance, so I guess easier breathing is good all around. In your experiences are K&N's worth the cost?
Finally, if I get really ambitious I might take the engine apart and put in a new cam shaft. This is one thing that I have not been able to find. Does anyone have a good place to purchase aftermarket performance cam's brand new for this engine?
Thanks for any help,
Justin
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,136
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From:
RE: New Guy w/ '81 Dodge Mirada
http://www.jegs.com/index.html?ct=110
Welcome to Dodge Forum Justin. The Mirada is a fine car and a good car to modify. Above I listed just one of many site sponsors who carry Mopar and other aftermarket parts for your engine. The 318 is a good engine to cut your teeth on since it has plenty of potential. BadStratRT has a Mirada that runs in the 12's in the quater mile.
If you have any questions about modifying your car, feel free to PM or post.
Welcome to Dodge Forum Justin. The Mirada is a fine car and a good car to modify. Above I listed just one of many site sponsors who carry Mopar and other aftermarket parts for your engine. The 318 is a good engine to cut your teeth on since it has plenty of potential. BadStratRT has a Mirada that runs in the 12's in the quater mile.
If you have any questions about modifying your car, feel free to PM or post.
Record Breaker
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,270
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From: southern NH
RE: New Guy w/ '81 Dodge Mirada
Welcome to DF- that's a nice Mirada you have there! Looks like the '80 I owned back 20+ years ago- same color in and out as mine was. It was a nice car, but jinxed from the start- it lived a short and not very happy life!
