quote:Desire reliability, quietness (relatively), and improved performance.
It sounds like you're not planning to pull the engine for a rebuild at this time, but just looking for a few incremental improvements for the time being. In that case...
The Edelbrock Performer is one of the most popular intake manifolds for mild engines. I understand the original Ford intake is supposed to flow pretty well, but the Edelbrock will presumably flow better and save quite a bit of weight.
As far as carburetors go, I'm less than impressed with my Holley 670 Avenger. It's ok and gets the job done, but has a slight hesitation when gently rolling onto the throttle while already at cruise speed. I'd recommend a Road Demon 625cfm carb (possibly the 725cfm model if you're planning a future rebuild with a bigger cam, but you will need to jet it down for the stock engine). http://www.barrygrant.com/demon/default.aspx?page=8
Over-carbureation is the #1 mistake most people make with their engines. The bigger carb will flow better at WOT, but you will likely spend less than 1% of your driving time at WOT. The smaller carb will net you better driveability and off-idle performance.
Headers from any of the vendors will do. They will not cause the car to be noticeably louder. That would be the mufflers (keep the stock mufflers). You may be able to find used Pantera headers in the POCA newsletter, on ebay, or in the "parts for sale" section of this board. I've heard great things about Pat Mical's headers and would like a set myself, but that will have to wait until I rebuild my engine. If you're buying headers anyway, it may be more prudent to spend the extra $$ now on the headers you want in order to avoid spending the money again later to upgrade them when you do rebuild the engine.
Keep the stock mufflers! I have one of the quietest Panteras on Earth (that runs!) and it has headers from Hall Pantera with the stock mufflers. But it still sounds great! My neighbors don't think it's quiet, but compared to other Panteras, it is.
[/quote]Buy a new medium spec cam.[/quote]
Forget cam upgrades at this point. Save your money for when you can do a complete rebuild and address the valve train, heads, and everything else to complement the cam. My stock 104,000 mile original engine Pantera with electronic ignition, headers, Performer intake, and Holley 670 Avenger carb dyno'd 250hp at the rear wheels! Pretty good for a tired old engine! I've read a lot of posts here and on the DT Mail List where folks have thrown together an engine with "parts" and the results are less than impressive - they usually make power within 10% of my hp (on either side) but at the expense of driveability and reliability. Yeah, it might idle like a monster, but it's a poser. Wait until you're ready, then work with someone who KNOWS these engines who can help you spec a complete package that will do what you want.
quote:Take the extra money and start on some of the other maintenance things that a 30 year old car needs. Things like bushings and bearings, Porterfield brake pads(the best $250 upgrade you'll ever make to your brake system), the relay upgrade for fans and lights, etc.
I couldn't agree more!
Keep it on the road, drive it, and enjoy it!
Garth