I own a 74 valiant 4 dr. Great car, good shape. So far in my quest for slant power I've swapped exhaust for 2-1/4" w/ turbo muffler, msd coil, open edelbrock air filter, removed hood insulation (ok for the extra "virtual" power) and lighter wheels. Not a whole lot, but enough to definately notice from stock. I'm looking at removing the a/c, and possibly back seat and power steering. My question is this. How difficult is it to remove a/c. I've never heard anyone talk about what it takes to remove it. What about power steering? How is steering after it's gone? Back seat? I read a couple articles saying getting that out is kind of difficult. One last question is how hard it would be to swap bench out for buckets. Not necessary but a thought. Keep in mind it's my daily driver, so no responses about heater and radio removal. Thanks!

Back seat is pretty easy, push the bottom of the seat in to eject it off the floor hooks, lift up and pull out, if it's never been out you'll have to use some 'gorilla' tactics.

A/C isn't hard either, just unbolt everything that goes to the A/C compressor, and the compressor also from the block. Depending on your Belts you'll have to come up with a way to rebelt the Alt and power steering, maybe...

The A/C unit under the dash, I've never done so you're on your own.

Power steering box with no pump attached is like driving a school bus, you'll never turn a corner without Arnold Schwartenegger's help. If you really have to do it, hunt around for a 1973+ manual steering column and a manual steering gearbox, yeah they save weight, my arm muscles get a work out everyday daily driving a manual steering Duster with a manual tranny, I love it, but it doesn't respond as quickly as my power steering car...

Good luck, you might think about digging up a super six, and doing a port job on your head for better 'umph'

-D.Idiot

Didn't think about that. Maybe I'll take out the seat. I'm an ameuture machanic so custom rebelting isn't gonna happen. You know, a super six has been tempting, but the thought of trying to get it working right sounds frustrating. I've never installed a carb or intake, and I always see posts of people having problems w/ them. One more option I've considered is gear ratio. How much do you think a shop would charge to modify it for low end?

When you unhook the lines off the A/C, crack them open slowly and let the refrigerant bleed off slowly. If you let it contact your skin you will get some nasty freeze burns.

_________________
Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

If you take out the back seat, you'll be subjected to alot of noise from the trunk area. You might be surprised at how much noise the back seat keeps from the passenger compartment. It really doesn't weigh that much, not much of an advantage in removing it.
The rule of thumb used to be 100# = 1/10 second in the 1/4 mile. 1/10 of a second = about one car length in the 1/4 mile. I would be surprised if the back seat weighs more than 30#.

_________________
'66 Cuda 225/4spd
'66 Dart GT convertible 225/auto
'64 Dart GT 340/4spd

agreed. Taking out the back seat probably causes more inconvenience than the teeny tiny bit of performance increase. Thanks for the tip on refridgerant, but seeing as if I unhook the a/c I won't have a place for the moving belt to go (I think it powers the power steering and who knows what else) I may just go back to square one. (hmmmm...super six? Aftermarket ignition control box?......not many more options without boring, grinding, and being without a car for a long while) It's hard to get over the sickness of constantly upgrading the mopar.

That happened to me with my truck once. Boy did I feel stupid. Didn't even realize it was an A/C line I was opening up (granted I WAS only 16)

_________________
'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

On a stock Slant you will actually see a bigger gain. I took 150# off my Duster and gained almost 3 tenths. We used to switch driving between my wife and I and she would be almost 4 tenths quicker than me. She weighs about 200# less than me.

_________________
Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Maybe she's a better driver!

_________________
'70 Cuda AAR
'74 Duster 360
'79 MagnumGT
'79 Chrysler 300