Junkyard 5.9L Magnum + Edelbrock LA heads build

Or maybe said as 'no lower than stock DCR (and torque), with a gob more lift'. Higher lift to duration ratio tends to be good for street use; several sources for that type of grind. So if you are happy with that torque level and that is the right stock cam ICA number then you will be a happy guy.

62 ABDC for the stock cam ICA seems a bit long however.... but I do see that number here: 5.9L Valve Timing Specs
Is this where you got that number? I see the earlier cams are listed at 80 ABDC.... makes me wonder at what lift value these stock advertised numbers were measured.... I see from your cam card that Racer Brown did them at .008" lift.

So maybe the present rear gear is good enough to be happy with? Better for mileage..... unless it ends up being at or below stall speed a lot of the time.

Yes that is where I got those numbers. I ran this same converter before with my old 7 1/4" rear with 2.76 gears and the slippage wasn't too bad, I did add a fairly large trans cooler and cast deep trans pan though for peace-of-mind. We'll see how it runs first but I already have a 489 case 3rd member I just need to buy a 3.55 ring and pinion and rebuild and swap my current sure-grip unit.