Old cars are great just as they are. But if you hope to use one regularly these days, a few updates can make the experience better. For example, say you’ve got a 1968 Mustang with a 390 and you live in L.A. That traffic is notorious, and the cooling system in the Mustang, while decent enough, won’t like long periods of idling. What’s the fix? A modern radiator and an electric cooling fan to assist air movement when sitting still. It’s not a huge impact to the look of an otherwise original engine compartment (at least if done right — mount […]
Old cars are great just as they are. But if you hope to use one regularly these days, a few updates can make the experience better.
For example, say you’ve got a 1968 Mustang with a 390 and you live in L.A. That traffic is notorious, and the cooling system in the Mustang, while decent enough, won’t like long periods of idling. What’s the fix? A modern radiator and an electric cooling fan to assist air movement when sitting still. It’s not a huge impact to the look of an otherwise original engine compartment (at least if done right — mount the fan as a pusher and paint the radiator black to hide it, and keep the original fan setup in place, too). Something like that will make you sweat less over your engine sweating too much. For a couple hundred bucks, it’s a deal — but only if you intend on needing it.
For me, the swap to electronic fuel injection has been one of the best things I’ve done to my Caprice. The engine, even with a big cam, starts and runs easier now, and the car doesn’t smell as rich at idle as it did with an 800-cfm carb fueling things. It’s also a lot more tunable than the carburetor was, and I like to mess around with it from time to time to adjust for different conditions. It’s not for everyone, but for this application, the Holley Terminator Stealth system I got from Summit Racing has been fantastic.
So how about it? What’s the best modern modification you’ve done to your car and why? Large or small, let us know about it in the comments below.
