500+ horse 440
I was only being sarcastic about 509 cam, but he said lumpy idle. There are better cams out there.
Definitely. My proven recipe is TRW 6-pack (L2355F) pistons, recon'd LY rods with ARP bolts, ANY 440 crank (cast is fine, with external balance items in place), ANY year 440 block. Fully ported and polished iron heads (906/452, etc.) with 2.14x1.81 valves and Comp #925 double springs. Use the XE285HL cam from Comp Cams with the best (preferably old shelf stock from the '80s/90s) lifters and Isky/Crane iron adjustable rockers with good 3/8" cup/ball pushrods. With a Street Dominator, M1, Torker or TM7 single plane intake or a RPM dual plane, you'll need a HP950 or 850DP Holley. Use 1-7/8" headers and straight through mufflers (not Flowmaster or other chambered mufflers) for best results.
This will get you there, but a few improvements can be made for (arguably) a few more bucks. KB237 flat top pistons (Keith Black UEM) are an upgrade with better valve reliefs, just gap the rings properly, or any lightweight forged pistons (Diamond/JE/Ross, etc.) would require balancing but are worth HP. Also aluminum heads like TrickFlow, ProMaxx, Edelbrock, Stealth 440 Source, etc. are worth quite a bit more HP when prepped. I'm not too big on hydraulic roller cams, but a small mechanical cam, flat tappet or roller add some complication but an easy power increase. Something around 250-260@.050" lift and under .600" lift (for spring and lifter life) will fit the bill. Of course a 499-512 kit for some more $$$ will boost the horsepower some and torque a bunch, but one can have plenty of fun for the dollar with the basic 3.75" stroke setup.
In terms of in-vehicle performance, my 446 (.030" over) built like my recipe above, with the RPM manifold, and 1-3/4 shorty headers (due to the chassis) runs high 12s in the quarter and low 8s in the 1/8mi in a 5300 pound (including me) Gran Fury Suburban wagon. So in a B body, figure 7.50s and low 12s, and in a Duster or Dart etc. plan on low 7s possibly high 6s in the 1/8 and 11s in the 1/4mi.
