Carb tuning will help. How much %-wise? Dunno. I just know it will help. Try it and report back, then we'll all know how much it helped your specific combination.
My initial thoughts are that you have plenty of compression but a small cam. You also have a very restrictive exhaust. Exhaust improvements should almost always be one of the first things you do. They help even a stock engine make more power and allow modified engines to perform to their potential. Also, freeing up the exhaust may require retuning the carb, so why not do the exhaust first so you don't have to mess with the carb twice?
Next up, you're already limiting your timing due to your high compression. Of the cams you've listed the 068 is the only one designed to work specifically in high compression engines. Without doing a more detailed analysis though I can't tell whether it or the Crane will build less lower RPM cylinder pressure. My experience tells me the 068 would probably make less cylinder pressure down low, allowing you to run more initial timing, and produce a broader torque band than the Crane cam but probably less power at RPMs above about 4000-4500. That's just my semi-educated guess on how those cams would react.
In any case, freeing up the exhaust would be my first step, followed by carb tuning, followed by a bigger cam, followed by more carb and distributor tuning to match the bigger cam. I'm betting that those modifications will net you significant power, possibly as much as 50 HP or more.
__________________
----------------------------
'72 Formula 400 Lucerne Blue, Blue Deluxe interior - My first car!
'73 Firebird 350/4-speed Black on Black, mix & match.
|