Dan you're losing sight of the project.
Yes torque gets the car moving, but the instant it is moving, it takes hp to keep it moving.
Furthermore
If your engine only makes 300 ftlbs at 2000 stall but 340 by 2800, it's a no-brainer where you want to take off at.
And then, there's torque multiplication. Taking off with a starter gear of 2.45 x 2.76 at 300 ftlbs is like 2028ftlbs, which is wet noodle acceleration compared to
2.74 x 3.73 x 340= 3475, which is 71% stronger. There is Nothing you can do to your engine (normally Aspirated) that can get you plus 71% more take off power than gears and stall.
That 214* cam (say 262* advertised), with no other changes, is likely to DROP your cylinder pressure to 120 from 140, making take-off extremely mushy. That will end up feeling like a hi-pressure slanty.
To get the pressure back to 140 will take a compression ratio increase from 8 to 9; just to the break-even point.
But to get the pressure up to near optimum will take even more compression ratio, say 10/1 for 161 psi
Notta chance would I run a 262/110 advertised cam in an 8/1, 318. The pressure is already piss-poor with the stock cam. With no compression-ratio increase, any cam with a later-closing intake event, that you slide into her will kill the low-rpm torque.
If yur not gonna put decent pistons into her, nor closed chamber heads; then leave the factory cam in her . The only possible other solution is a faster rate of lift, EARLIER closing intake, solid-lifter cam; and better than factory arms, often said to be just 1.42 ratio..
Good luck finding such a cam.
Say it with me; on the street,
Less than 140psi is not worth talking about, cuz
140 psi sucks.
150 psi sucks a lil less
160 psi is a good number for iron heads and a tight-quench
170 psi is about where you want to trade in your iron heads for alloys.
180 is where the torque is
190 is where the power is
200 psi is about the upper limit for alloy heads, carbs, and factory-style ignition systems.
When a person says that torque is king, we are talking about relatively speaking.
At take-off 320 ftlbs is king over 300, but 340 is king over 320. The difference could be 3>4 hundred rpm, between each data point.
300 ftlbs @2000rpm is 114 hp which sucks for take-off.
320 @ 2400 is 146 hp, that's more like it.
340 at 2800 is 181 hp, Now yur talking!
Put a clutch on it and
360@3600 is 247hp. overkill.
Every hp number has a corresponding torque number, and they are intimately connected, and you cannot talk about one without the other.
But here's what you have to imagine;
a hiway tractor might only make 500 hp at 2200, yet twist out some nasty 1200 ftlb. Go stick your 500hp stroker under that hood, and let's see how long it will survive pulling 80,000 pounds. Torque is king.
Here's an example;
If you want to run 2.45 gears, with off-the-line punch, and not run a very hi-stall, yur gonna need a chitload of torque; and it's gonna come with more than 318 cubes.
but put 4.88s in the back, and with no other changes, it will take-off pretty respectably.
BTW
a 4bble does not add instant power with increasing rpm. Whatever extra power it makes, it is measured at wide open throttle, and at the rpm of peak power.
But at a stall of 2000 rpm it might not add even 1hp. Even at 2500 it might not add even 1 hp. It will not began to add power until whatever rpm your 2bbl ran out of air. Say your 2bbl on your combo, was good to 3000 rpm. Well that will be when your 4bbl adds it's first single hp. And if your cam peaks at ~4200 like the factory 318 cam does, that will be when the last 1hp gets added. But it will keep right on reving until the valves float.
So then, the 4bbl with a stock cam, is not a whole lotta help, below 3000 rpm. If your car has 2.45 rear gears, then 3000rpm in first gear is about 36mph. With 3.55s that would be 25mph. With 4.30s, it would be 21 mph
As you can see, gears by themselves will not get you into 4bbl territory in any big hurry.
But if you put a 3000 stall on the back, then when you floor the gas-pedal, the secondaries are ready to start working, right away.
