slant daily driver buildup

I have close to the same goals that you do with my 73, which is also my daily driver. Definitely use the later head.

The /6ers seem to like the Erson cam. With that much duration, I'd think power would come on somewhere past 2000 rpm. Comp Cams makes a pair for the solid lifter /6. The 252S makes power from 800-4500 rpm, and the 264S that makes power from 1200-5000 rpm. The lift on these cams is .435 and .440 respectively.

The 2¼ inch exhaust does make a big difference. When I converted from stock, I used a generic turbo muffler. The sound at cruising speeds is not too intrusive but it will get loud when I stand on it.

NOTE: I had a hard time finding a muffler shop who would/could bend the exhaust pipe to fit the exhaust manifold. Several shops I went to said they could not do it. The one that was recommended as being able to do it could not. They had already cut the original up, so I was stuck with using the 1 7/8" pipe from the manifold to just under my feet. It burned the manifold pipe gasket every time I took a long trip. Finally I did find a shop that could do the job and I'm much happier. (Ya should have heard what they had to say about the chop job on the car.)

Secondly, Everyone wanted to bend the tail pipe to exit straight under the bumper. I bought a pre-formed driver's side 2¼" V-8 exhaust pipe that has all the little ripples and bends so that it turns down forward of the rear valence.