A lot of us did. That was always the first thing that got changed. CAM. LOL Then maybe headers and intake. those were some good runnin old motors too. I miss them days.
I don't now how many cam swaps I did back in the 70's for guys, we'd call them yuppie's these days...lol, that just wanted there low comp GM's & Fords to just sound good with headers and a cam, but didn't want to spend any real coin or really care how fast they were. Many of those cars probably ran the same times as before the mods.....no gear, no converter, no tuning, etc. But with all the sound and commotion going on, they felt like they were driving Pro Stockers.:D And I was glad to take their money..lol.