302240Z

I agree with you about the 289 getting it's power from rpm. I ran a full race cam in mine on the strip. It was terrible on the street. That's why I suggested he go for a torque cam. It puts the power down at a lower rpm so he can use it on the street.

horseshoeing

Ok, maybe not a full race cam, but one that works upto 5500rpm. Use a mild street cam.

vfast

instead of a cam change just buy some longer rocker arms to increase lift...a set of headers will help as would a performance 500cfm 2 bbl carb if you want to stay that way. a msd system will wake the car up.. pull off the intake and doing a little port work will help...this will keep it stock looking if this is a big thing...also a nice 3.42 gear will help and a shift kit in the c-4 a nice open k/n filter will also help