Best upgrade for troublefree city/highway

[nrob423]

I have a WG 89 with a 360 with no modifications. Whats the best upgrade for troublefree cruising - city - highway?

no towing no offroad

[Wagoneerlover]

Depends on how much money you are willing to spend on investing on things that you feel will improve the rig. If you want to get trouble free operation (on a tight budget) the cheapest bet would be to keep everything stock and just replace and repair components that are aged and worn out.

If you want to spend a little more cash to a lot of cash there are many things that can be done. (Varies depending on how much you want to spend, your technical and mechanical expertise, and the condition that your rig is in (Some rigs need little work to get them into great shape and others need gobs of work (How much of the work you want to do yourself)?

my vote would go to the following though. (on a tight or low budget)
1. Replace all vacuum lines, pcv valve etc.
2. Make sure to rebuild and freshen up your carb
3. TFI upgrade
4. Just the basic major tune up points and make sure your engine is in proper running shape (Compression test etc)

[nrob423]

I am using it as a daily drive today - so everything is working.

But I live i Norway so it has to work in -20C and +20c - having some trouble in the winter now.
And - I dont like the look of the wiring (engine). Old, patched etc.
And - I would like some better respons

as for budget - cant do mutch myself now so I have to hire help. I was thinking max 4-5K

[chemijeeper]

well its funny that wagoneerlover chimed in then you asked about wiring....One of his electrical threads is pretty near the top in general tech. Redoing the electrical harness with a custom gauge set-up. Very nice write-up. give it a look. you can also do a quick search and there is more than enough electrical threads out there

[Locked and Loaded]

You just did the best and cheapest upgrade by joining this forum. Welcome aboard.

[HeavyHauler]

Your carb has several adjustments that can be made to it. There is one for cold weather. I think replacing carb with fuel injection will be a big help with driveability.

[nrob423]

I have seen there's some fuel injection kits. Edel etc. Does it work?
It would replace most of my "scary" parts, and with a new cam....
but I don't wont to install something that gives me more trouble.

[waynestiles]

other than the reliability/efficiency items already mentioned,you might take a look at your tire selection.

I will be going through a bunch of similar stuff with my wagoneer. I live in a chronic heavy snow belt area and I have to drive a lot--2500mile/month average--for my work.
I have found that balancing your weight to power to tire size is critical to safe winter performance. The big coarse tread off-road tires look real nice on our rigs but unless you are really going off road in the deep stuff they may be overkill. At worst they can work against you in moderate snow, slush, and on wet ice when you are on pavement at highway speeds. they "float", fill up with white stuff, and lose traction (unless they are like deep mud or sand tires) and control. In this past nastier than usual winter I have seen significantly more "4wd SUVs" sitting in the deep stuff along the shoulders of our highways than more mundane vehicles---though that may be more of a commentary on overconfident underqualified drivers than equipment

Along the same line you might want to evaluate tires based on handling and fuel efficiency---more along the line of taller moderate ratio allweather radial tires and less like the over wide AT tires we usually put on them.

In addition you might also consider a replacement wiring harness kit if your existing one has been really hacked up. there are a number available through our site vendors. Another item is a carefull look at your window and door seals and mechanisms.

I will also be supplementing the insulation in the roof as well as under the carpet and behind the door panels along with looking at upgrading the heater blower. These things have a lot of interior cubic space to keep warm and defrosted in the winter and cool in the summer.

[DanHS]

Best upgrades without spending too much money, I'd say replace anything that's getting old or worn, silicone rubber vacuum lines (don't dry out like rubber), good wiring, tune it up good with a properly rebuilt carb, free flowing muffler and good ignition. I plan to improve my cold weather starting and overall driveability with a mid 80's Mustang carb (Motorcraft/Holley 4180-c, ask Ristow about them, he knows how to set them up), turbo muffler, and a Mallory ignition box using the stock distributor and TFI upgrade. Fixing up and simplifing the vacuum system makes quite an improvement too.

[Dirtball]

Folks, did you not see his budget?? 4-5 K??? Lord, Lord, Lord... what I could do with that... let me think and I'll get back on here...

[will e]

I vote for the TFI or and HEI upgrade. Will help drivability, cold starts and get rid of the ignition module.

[PlasticBoob]

$4-5k budget for troublefree driving? Assuming the engine is in good shape, go fuel injection and don't look back. Personally, if the engine has never been rebuilt, I would rebuild it with upgrades before doing anything else.

Rewire all the important circuits that the EFI harness misses while you're at it, it's not that hard. :)

[Dirtball]

HEI, EFI, all new vac lines, rewire... yep, that oughta do it... then spend what's left on anything residual... we all have some great ideas!!! LOL

[Blue & Gray]

Some one mentioned a Mallory ignition box and HEI. You could also run an MSD ignition box with either your stock dizzy and get rid of the ignition module or with an HEI set up and do the same. This is great first mod to get any old wag starting and running much better. It helps with cold starts and over all driveability as you begin to swap carbs and what not to get more power. Considering your budget, $180 for new MSD 6A isn't much and you can do it yourself with little to fear. There's other ignition boxes , Pro-comp, jacobs and mallory, that are similar but I have always used MSD. They have good tech support and forums like this for any problems/questions you may have.

[shimniok]

I have a WG 89 with a 360 with no modifications. Whats the best upgrade for troublefree cruising - city - highway?

no towing no offroad

Buying a newish Honda or Toyota... :D

Seriously tho there's really no one upgrade (maybe not even a set of a dozen) that will guarantee these things will be troublefree.

However, lots of preventative maintenance makes a HUGE difference (frequently check and change ALL belts, ALL hoses, ALL fluids, coolant flush, do tuneups, etc.) It has made worlds of difference with mine. You can't give these things enough attention. Don't let any particularly odd noises go ignored for long.

And, just work out the bugs over time -- but leave it as stock as you can. If you found a good one it will be pretty reliable if you keep up with maintenance.

Michael

[nrob423]

OK -
I'll do the following
-summit cam 8600
-edelbrock performer intake
-edelbrock carb 600 cfm with e choke

but what else should I change?

and
I don't want to put old/tired parts back in, so what parts do I have to remove to change the cam?

[Kwikrat]

Let's see.... Cam, lifters, gaskets, matched set of dizzy gears (important), and a new fuel pump eccentric is a good idea. Oh and bulltear has some badGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley new front covers, if you want to make sure you are replacing everything. Am I forgetting anything?

[Towtruck]

1. Remove all decals and wood grain trim.

2. Slam the vehicle

3. Rear disk brakes

[Wagabond]

6.2 Diesel swap, Optima battery.

[andy d]

with a 20 yr old car, the more stuff you replace, the more reliable you'll will make it. If the car is rusty and has high miles, the list can get pretty long. I pretty much run 20 yr old cars. I stopped using my Wag as a daily driver when gas topped 1.25$ a gallon. The more you keep the wag stock, the further your money will go, hence the more reliable. If you start modifying things , the money wont go as far. The more work you can do yourself, the more money you spend on parts. A brand new wag, didnt have many problems. The closer you get yours to original, the less you will have. Lotsa Luck :thumbsup:

[nrob423]

Ok - this is what I have ordered

Summit Cam 8600
edelbrock perfomer intake non egr
edelbrock carburator el choke
new oil pump with cover etc
new water pump
edelbrock TES header
new radiator
and alot of gasket and hoses.
hmm think thats about it.

haven't desided on what to do with electric mess yet. Start relay etc has been fixed and fixed and fixed with a lot of tape and bad wires. Don't like it.

and HEI? or what? any sugggestions on further improvement?

[bushwood44]

TFI upgrade

[81j10honcho]

OK -
I'll do the following
-summit cam 8600
-edelbrock performer intake
-edelbrock carb 600 cfm with e choke

but what else should I change?

and
I don't want to put old/tired parts back in, so what parts do I have to remove to change the cam?
add a set of hroads lifters to that