best cam, heads, and intake.....??

[bvega]

The dyno numbers you showed off the afr website tell it all. It is not too nasty a cam and it is not all about lift. For instance there are countless guys running AFR 165/E-Cam/Cobra Intake EFI mustangs on a 302 and getting 325-330 rwhp = 370-380 fwhp.

I think that you could easily get 350 rwhp from a carb 302 with AFR 185 cc heads. Keep in mind that a 390 hp pump gas combo has already been tested in the MM&FF cylinder head shootout. I believe it was in the july or august editions. That is why I think you could make a nice 10.1 compression n/a 302 that will be as streetable as any other 500 hp FE motor cobra.

Im sure you can see that EFI cars have long intake runners giving them more low and mid range tq than carb but the overall hp is really hindered by this hence you have the Trick Flow R series intakes with really short EFI runners. Since you have a smaller carb with a streetable intake you should preserve your low and mid range but your top end will scream.

That 540 lift cam is pretty mild in terms of lift but you must also consider duration and Lobe separation as these factors really determing idle quality and flow characteristics.