Waking Up a Turd

Mile Maker said

First figure out exactly what kind of cam and pistons are there.
My Ideas are to replace the intake with one more suited to the cam. Edelbrock performer or RPM based on recommendations here.
Assuming they are 10-1 flat tops...... Freshen up the bottom end with new rings.
Check out the heads. If they are just stock J heads, i would seriously consider replacing them, as i believe rebuilding them + port work would be nearly the cost of replacement. Ether Indy heads, or Edelbrock. Based on recommendations from here

Click to expand...

Without more gear, the intake probably won't make much difference for you, if anything it will likely just move the curve even higher and be less or equal on the low end (under 4k).

Like AJ said: rev it.

If gears aren't on the list right now, then a converter is likely the next best step. A modern high-stall should still let you street drive it but will definitely help get your rev counts into the meatier part of your torque/hp curves. Rather than ask about converters, call up the custom converter suppliers and get recommendations. Having vehicle weight, gear, tire height and peak torque will be important for them to make an educated guess.