Welcome to CHR:

I think the peanut ports get a bit of a bad rap. They perform well in a lot of engines and with a little work they can support north of 400 horsepower and 500 ft lbs of torque.

I echo the concerns with a flat tappet cam – I’d really encourage you to look toward a roller. The good news is that there are several kits that have just about everything you need to make the swap. Comp cams part number K11-413-8 has the cam, lifters, valve springs, keepers, and timing chain for about a thousand bucks. I’m thinking your heads are 346236 (a zillion of them produced) and in all likelihood, you will have to have them machined to accommodate anything over .500/.500 lift. The Comp cam is .510/.510 – less than the Lunati you’re looking at but still too much for stock heads.

That said, you could pull the heads and have a bit of cleanup work done to open up the intake ports a bit at the same time you're getting the spring perches machined and the heads would be fine for what you’re wanting, i.e., a torque increase. This would be one time that I’d recommend an Edelbrock Performer – part number 2161 as it is designed around the peanut port and a performance peak at 3,500RPM which is almost exactly where the Comp cam maximizes as well. If your stock Quadrajet is in good shape a rebuild and a good open air filter should be all that’s necessary there. With the machine work, new manifold, gaskets and expendables you’ll get $2,000 tied up real quick but you will definitely realize a performance increase in the idle to 3,500RPM range.

It will still suck gas like a drunken sailor downs rum and not be an acceptable freeway cruiser. As mentioned, with that much weight (and the 4.10 gears) it’s tough to have a lot of low and high end performance at the same time without spending a big bucket of money.

Have fun and let us know what you decide.

Glenn