I wouldn't waste time with a cam swap unless you do the heads as well, since they're the major choke point in engine performance on a stock SBF

 

Your carb is fine.. Just get the Performer Plus Cam for a little upgrade to match your intake. What size carb are you running now? If you want to change that out you could go for a roller lifter/rocker set up while you are in the motor.. I guess you need to put together a budget and figure out what exactly you are looking for to get some better suggestions for upgrades. let us know how much you are wanting to spend and we can definately tell you how to get the best bang for your buck.. Is it your daily driver?

 

For an almost stock engine, you want a cam with 46x to 48x lift at the valve. The more life, the more stress on the existing components, and the more likely they are to fail. Sticking with the stock style flat tappet hydraulic will keep your durations in check, but stay under 220* at 0.050 lift and you'll be in pretty good shape. Higher durations work best with higher RPM's, which your stockish engine won't particularly like. The other small variable is the lobe separation. You're likely to find most cams in the 112 and 114 durations, some as much as 118. Stick with the 112/114 cams.

Buy a good quality cam kit that include the timing chain, lifters, and springs along with the cam. It is a pain to replace springs with the engine in the car, but will help the performance of the engine especially in the higher RPM ranges.

There is no need to swap heads for a mild cam upgrade. The stock heads are designed to maximize velocity and low end torque, which also helps fuel economy.

 

I just don't see pulling all the crap necessary to just change a cam and leaving stock heads, as worth the effort. A cam swap isn't like changing a carburetor, there's a lot of time and effort involved, and you don't gain much power over stock. Price wise it's a decent investment return, but that's a lot of effort for a bit of power. As long as you're already there it's just a few extra bolts to pull the heads. That's why I think it's better to do everything at once, rather than tear it down again later to swap heads. Just my $0.02 though

 

holley > edelbrock

 

Heads cost $1k give or take. Cam is $150 and can be done in a day. Big ol' difference there.

 

If you are having trouble making a combo you can go with a premade performer package. Edelbrock and Holley both sell different levels of performance packages with an estimated horsepower for the combo. The head, cam, intake are all matched to one another so that would be the simplest way of changing the top end of your motor.

I think you can buy the packages from summit racing, but go and check out Holley's and Edelbrock's sites to look at the details of the packages.

 

Here are some links;

Edelbrock Kits
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...age_main.shtml
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...p;autoview=sku

I can't find the other kits right now.

 

Yeah, I know cams are a lot cheaper than heads, but what I said was the EFFORT isn't worth it. You can tear half the engine down to swap a cam and pick up 20hp, or save up and do the cam along with intake and heads for the same effort and gain 120hp or more

 

Thanks all to your replys..

I agree with 67mustang302, if you are going to go through all the trouble to change the cam, then the heads are worth the extra step.
If I go with the Edelbrock #2091 Ford 289-302 367 HP Top End Head Kit, will I need to make any changes to my transmission? Its an AOD.

also, is 1800 a good price for that kit?

Ps: Im not worried about gas milage