Let me just say that I am "old school"... I'd go in increments starting with gears. I scanned the forums and chose 3.90's over my stock 3.27. It really depends on the type of performance you're looking for. If you want top speed for long hauls, or if you want to out accelerate a Honda Accord from one light to the next. I chose the latter because a school bus can get up to 120 mph ...given enough distance...but I wanted to leave cars in my dust. If anyone can buy gears and get them professionally installed for $500...God Bless ya, you've found someone who works for $10./hr.
For other mods, my basic rule of thumb is....$85 spent = 1 HP gain. It costs thousands of dollars to go from a 14 sec to a 12 sec street car. OK...let the flaming begin
Check your diaper...my first car was a 69 Boss 302 I bought in 73.
My point was, lower rear gears will get the V8 into a useful rpm range quicker. Torque and lower gearing is what most "out of the box" vehicles lack for the sake of better gas mileage.
