460 Windsor or move to a big block

[Three Peaks]

I have a 392 stroker on a stock 74 Windsor block and a Comp Cams XE 294 cam. 35-254-4 - Xtreme Energy

From the person I bought the cam from he had it in just about an identical engine set up as mine and had it dynoed at around 515 hp. I just finished the car a couple months ago and it is a beast to drive, but it also doesn't like to drive much below about 1800 rpm. I have 3.27 rear gears and it is pretty slow to get going in 1st gear sometimes unless I lay into it, then it is crazy. I will be considering changing out to 3.55 or 3.73 gears one of these days but I can live with it at the moment as I can break the rears loose in 4th gear without trying too hard. I'm sure it helps my car only weighs about 2,000 lbs.

If it were me, I would change out the cam to something with a better low end and mid range and change the rear gears to around 3.73 or so. It will feel like a completely different car. I don't think I would worry too much about the exhaust. I run 1 7/8" headers and it sounds and runs great after warming up- don't have a choke on my Holley 750 dp.
A few suspension tweeks may also make the car a bit more enjoyable to drive but I would try the cam/rear gears first and see where you end up. You can just about guarantee Brent can help you out with some solid advice when the time comes. I've always been impressed by his no-nonsense approach to engine building and customer service.

Bob