Here's my set-up:

Carb (haven't picked specific but will be something similar to QuickFuel 650-700, whatever they reccomend)

RPM Air gap intake

Heads (currently stock, looking to change to AFR 195's... any advice on this)

Cam LT4 Hotcam .492/.492 lift 210/228 at .050

Edelbrock short tube headers

Everything else is stock I think...

Any advice on heads? Any idea on how much HP/torque I can expect to see from this combination?

 

i would make sure you do everything at once and do not use the stock heads, they don't flow for crap. The cam is OK but there are tons of better grinds out there to look into. AFR's are the best in the business, but also expensive. You can get some serious power from really any aftermarket heads, or if on a tight budget vortecs are a good option. It really all comes down to how much you've got to spend.

 

I'd like to do it all at once... but unfortunately my budget will only allow me to swap from carb to TPI at present. Heads I'm looking to have money for in 6 months. The car is meant to be a weekend cruiser so I'd be happy with horsepower and torque somewhere in the low to mid 300's. Will this set up get me there?

 

"Stock" heads says nothing. Which stock heads are they?

 

Oh yeah.. I guess that is a little ambiguous. They are stock L98 heads from and '87 5.7 TPI motor. Although I am more curious about the numbers with the AFR 195's.

 

my 2 cents.

quickfuel carb + afr heads and your goal is mid low 300's? way too much head and too much carb for hp numbers in the low 300's, not to mention you just spent almost 2 grand on 2 parts just for 300hp.

quickfuels are not cheap ( i just bought a 750 ), AFR's are not cheap ( i just bought a set )

If you go with the quickfuel and afr's, get another cam, obviously you can afford a measely $350 for a custom grind with more lift and more duration. No reason to buy one of the best street head there is and limit it to a small cam. Also, with those heads your gonna restrict it ALOT with POS edelbrock headers.

if your looking at 300hp numbers use something like this:
vortec heads
lt4 cam
holley DP 650
can use your edelbrock headers
you will save ALOT of money doing it this way.

If you buy the AFR's and a quickfuel do this:
-AFR 195's
-quickfuel 750
-custom grind cam 230ish duration, mid .500 lift
-Only headers i liked was dyno dons, but i believe hooker has good ones, others can chime in
-roller rockers
-cheap LS7 lifters

 

one of your post said your switch from carb to tpi, you ment other way around right?

 

Thanks for the advice LS4. Yes I meant TPI to carb, not the other way around. Unfortunately my car money is not as unlimited as it might seem. I'm just good at planning! The 350 for the cam would actually blow my budget and would need to wait a few months after installing the heads... any idea what numbers I could expect with a new cam, headers, etc. ? without the new cam and headers?

 

so am guessing this, you have a stock 5.7 TPI with edelbrock headers?

Do you have a full 3 inch exhaust?

My buddy rebuilt a 5.7 TPI with a tad bit more cam then stock, ran good, sold the car, next owner slapped on a pair of older style AFR's and ran 13.1. Thats with hooker headers, 3inch hooker exhaust, and alittle cam.

If the budget is not great, You will be pleased with vortec heads, LT4 cam, rpm air gap intake, and a 650 carb. All that adding up might still be the same or cheaper then just a set of new AFR heads lol

 

the combo above without AFR heads, I could maybe see 280-300whp. Hotcam is more like 218/228 duration. Its a nice cheap cam.

With AFR heads, matching the intake to the heads, depending on compression I could see 350whp-360whp.