i have a 73 scamp. the /6 has a holley 390 on it. i was wondering if there were any less expensive things i could do to my engine to get more hp out of it. it has a dual exhaust with glass packs. i'm only 14 years old and i have a very limited budget(about 600 dollars that i've been saving for years at the moment)

Electronic ignition and a higher output coil? No wait you said 73.. hm I think that was the year when electronic ignition came stock

Do you know what the rear end gear ratio is?
Have you ever adjusted the valves?
How about the distributor's advance curve, do you know how much advance the distributor gives the engine?

All these questions point to areas where performance can be found with-out a lot of $$.
DD

Yes. If the distributor is stock and original, it's most likely gummed up with dirt and old grease, neither of which will allow the advance weights to move as intended. Give it a complete teardown, cleaning, and regreasing. And leave out the heavy spring on reassembly for a quicker advance curve.

If you've never torn down a distributor before, grab an old one from the junkyard and practice on it first and read the Chrysler shop manuals if you have them.

Cost of the distributor rebuild will be FREE, except for cleaner and a little bit of grease. I use a grease and WD-40 mix when building a distributor. Put on the grease, then spray with WD-40, then assemble the parts.

NOS!

The ultimate power adder. For $350 you could buy a nos system that is made for a v8, and if you play with the jets, it would work on the slant.

Since you have the exhaust and intake done, anything else(like a coil, spark-plugs, ect) will only give you tiny gains.(1-5hp max)

Changing the rear-end is a good idea, but I find that unless you have a four speed you will top-out too quickly. Who wants their top speed to be 60mph?

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If it ain't broke, I haven't started "fixing" it yet.

i dont know anything about if the valves have been redone or what the gear ratio is, and i dont know how to adjust the distributor, but i think it has a fairly clean distributor because the guy we bought it form kept good care of the engine