76 monza drag car

[1976Monza350]

Hey all! I have a 1976 monza with an older 350 Chevy with a TH350 trans in it, it also has a 3:10 Posi rear end... All the original delco remy parts besides the dual side pipe exhaust and edelbrock 4 bbl. I've been down to the drags a couple times and she's just getting into the high 15s at 80ish miles an hour. I'm looking to get the engine rebuilt so I don't have to worry about shit breaking. What I have questions about is where do I start? My plans are aluminum heads, a more aggressive cam, an intake, a better distributor, an ignition box and a bigger radiator oh and potentially a manual steering box. I also will be putting in a fuel cell, replacing all of the junk body bushings and suspension bushings, replacing the leaky brake master cylinder, wider DOT legal drag tires, more than likely a cowl induction hood, and eventually racing seats a cage and belts. I am currently a collage student going through the GM ASEP program so money is not something I have a lot of. Does anyone have cheaper setups that have them rocketing down the drag strip? Please share your thoughts!

[rpoz-29]

Personal opinion, if you still have the factory rear end ratio, change that. They were geared for mileage back then.

[ol55]

Congratulations for being in the GM ASEP program. Good to see combination hands on/academic programs like this.
If this is your daily driver I would keep that in mind when making changes. I just purchased another car that was taken apart and never put back together. Always cost more money and more time than most of us estimate.
Agree with rpoz-29 on the rear ratio change to decrease your time.

Larry