[crazypete]

Ok, this is generic advice, but here's what you can do:

Reduce weight! You dont need more horsepower if you make the car lighter. Best of all, it's free! Get in there and start ripping stuff out of the car. If the A/C doesnt work, thats like a great 100 pounds of crap that you can toss. Just get a new belt to replace the missing compressor. Toss the soundproofing behind the interior panels. Thats like 30-40 pounds. Not sure if the 2.3's have a vibration reducer on the rear axle, but you can toss that too if it exists: thats like 15 pounds. You can get crazy pete style and pull the big steel I-beam rear bumper and front bumper off. The plastic covers do not sag, contrary to popular belief. There's tons of other stuff, hell, I got 400 pounds of crap out of mine.

What do you get? Better milage, less strain on the remaining parts, better acceleration, better handling.

Not sure if pulleys fit that engine, but I love my underdrive pulleys. Go synthetic! Empty out the tranny and fill it up with redline atf. Go with redline synthetic on the rear axle (75w-90 ns?). Needless to say, mobil one in the motor.

For the best seat of the pants kick, get an old 8.8 rear axle (they're cheap from a junkyard) and stomp some FMS 4.10 or 4.30 gears in there. Those little motors can handle a lot of rpm. You'll be burning out at every green light.


Hope this helps!