the 77 and up 302 were recasted and are not as strong as the older engines. i like the crowler baja torq.cams the 302 one is 264 dur.and 467 lift.lots of low end and will rev to the 6500 rpm range. big cam in a small engine makes for a very unhappy owner.
polish the combustion chambers and that will help with any hotspots in the head