Is my engine performing as it should??
I wouldn't do the 508 either.
A 484 will, 95% of the time, outperform a 508 cam except for the last 5-800 of usable band. With the carb you have the top end is going to suffer, so the 508 is a mismatch. I think you have some mismatched stuff.
If you are going to run stock rockers, stay with the 484 or a XE268H cam or something similar as the max lift range. Putting 1.7 rockers on this is an absolute waste of money, IMO. Try to find a flowsheet for the heads if done by a shop, without it, camming it is a guess at best. Plus, what they flow at .600 lift means nothing to you because the cam you are running is only accessing about .400-.420 lift ranges.
IMO, figure out what you want out of the engine. There are plenty of solid 350-400 hp builds for a 360. The current compression may be a bit of a hinderance, but, you can work around it with smart parts selection.
From a flow chart i saw for fully ported J heads, it flows best somewhere at .500lift.
CFM numbers are... .400lift = 240int./159ex. .500lift = 258int./183ex. BUT! This is someone elses head work, So it's just a guide.
But why is it a waste of money putting on 1.7 rockers? If a found a cam with enough duration to peak at 6,000 (where I would like to have it), and then slap some rockers to bring the lift to the low .500's, wouldn't it outperform a cam with the same profile but with 1.5 rockers? Since The 1.7's cause the valves to lift faster, so they hold fully open longer. Or is it hardly a difference in power? And you mentioned the carb would suffer up high, but how high are you talking about? And how much loss would there be? And what would be a better size? And I don't think i would have to add a ton more duration, (but I may be wrong, I'm still new at this), so I'm thinking the current compression (9.3) would be fine.
I know I have mismatched parts right now, the cam and head aren't matched the best and the torque converter is still being decided, but it will be changed. Im guessing somewhere in the 2800 - 3,000 stall range. But I have to decide on what to do about the cam first. Because now that I'm aware of the HP numbers of the engine, I don't think anything under 300 is acceptable, and I hope it's not under right now. So this thread might of turned into cam selection, haha.
And one more question, the engine was out of a 77' Dodge van, I do not have clear evidence of what kind of crank it has, I should of done more studying when the engine was torn apart. Im thinking it's a cast iron, so would it be safe spinning at 6,000? And I do have ARP rod bolts BTW.