Deciding on replacement intake (318, details in post)

junkyardhero said
that begs the $56,000 question: if it does make the same juice, then where and how?

more compression? more carb? more duration with super aggro ramps? what happens to the curve? how's the driveability?

That strikes me as a fair question

MopaR&D said
I feel like at your current power level, significant gains could only be had with a "complete package" rebuild, at least in regards to cam/heads/intake. IMO going from cleaned up and milled J heads to unported Trick Flows will give an incremental boost, maybe 30 HP? If it were mine I'd go for some heavily ported Speedmasters, get that intake flow up in the high 200s CFM range (at least). You're at the point in the "Cost vs. Power" curve where it starts getting a lot more expensive to make solid appreciable gains in performance.

if I have any more unwelcome news when the bottom end comes apart I’ll be fitting a 400hp BMW I6 diesel engine :p but seriously, I will know more later. If I cannot reuse much of the engine in its last guise I will need to prioritise replacement of bad before replacing currently usable which will draw things out. It’s not the end of the world, I’m in no hurry.