Thanks 273, for this chance to open the topic up a little and inform newbies or strict budget workers that there are so many "after the fact" affordable add-ons to continue the project without searching for a "340". :)
By "bang for the buck", I assume you mean which would lower the E.T. the most. Of the 3 you listed, probably a quality converter at this point. A good converter will make up for a lack of gearing in 60 ft (if I had tires to hook it up) and get the car into the power band quicker. I've dropped .4 in years past just by a simple converter swap. I would fully expect this car to respond the same, and may give me more if it was a high end ($$) converter. But you could drop in a cheaper converter (300.00 Hughes?) and pull plenty off the E.T.
But gears would certainly take a huge slice of E.T. right off the top (but take away the great highway cruising rpm I have now)! 3.55's - 3.91's would certainly help the teener move it off the line and get into the power band quicker. Price would be determined by the shopper.
Exhaling. I'm confident just a set of headers alone would add 2 mph to this car in the 1/4 mile. I'm shifting at 5300-5400 rpm's right now, but a set of headers would probably move the shift point to 5600 rpms. Headers alone may be 25-30 hp when matched to this cam and home-ported heads. Yes, a cheap 135.00 dollar set of headers from summit would do the job.
Compression, this cam is crying for compression, which I denied it to support the budget. It's not a fast ramp cam that aids in low compression motors. It's an old Crane fireball type of grind. A simple cutting of the heads .040 for a 150.00 bucks would be a seat of the pants difference, and add low end grunt, and be stronger all the way through.
