i posted this in the Q&A as well, but im neeeding as much help as i can get, so here we go.

i posted a similar post last week wth little to no response. i am needing advice to assist me in building my 360 to get what i want out of it. its a 74 model LA 360. it will be going into a 74 charger w/an a-500 tranny.

what i want is to have a street friendly build and i my HP goal is 360-400...no more than 400. let's plan around a 4bbl and stock manifolds but i will eventually be going to tbi. i already have an ex262 comp cam that i can use in it. i need to know what will be needed for this build. i do not want a thirsty beast, or a race build. just enough power to play around with when i push the pedal. where cost is concerned, let's aire on the less expensive side if we can..... can someone, anyone, give me some real world advice on how i can attain my build goals. if i can do it without boost, then i prefer to. i am needing advice on internals. the more opinions the better,

some questions i am wondering about are things like...
stock dished pistons vs flat
what pistons can i use w/o having to change valves.
hp capability of stock heads(after porting)
i need to know it all, dont leave anything out or take anything for granted. if you say use different pistons, tell em what else i need to change in order to use them... any and all advice is greatly appreciated! i want to learn here as well as getting opinions. thanks in advance guys.

stock heads with pocket porting will support 400hp, go with speedpro cp116 flat tops? zero deck, make sure you have about 10.1 cr . your cam might be a bit small for 400hp look for something between 226 and 240 @.050 for a cam

Hard to beat the speed-pro or KB hyper-pistons both for performance and price . Use your stock bottom end with the rods resized or after market rods if you prefer. Redone stock heads will work good with either 1.88 intake or 2.02 and a bowl cut and some smoothing. Top it off with an Edelbrock LD-340 . Air-gap or Performer RPM , headers and a 750 carb. The comp or the voodoo 268 would be a better choice , both are very mild cams.

concerning the cam, what makes the cam determine the HP limits of the engine? these are the things i want to learn. i just have that cam sitting around already, how much bigger is the cam you guys are suggesting than what i have? so, then, what determines whether i want a HP build, or a torque build... i was under the impression that HP was what made the motor feel "strong", but someone up above said it was torque. maybe i am using the term HP incorrectly. i am learning here, so with a 4k lb car, do i need to focus more on torque than power? or is there a balance to be found? also, some of you have said that the cam i have on the shelf is too small, what is the difference that the cam makes? what i want is an build that (with a 3.23 rear gear, etc) will MOVE that 4k lb car when i ask it to. Now understand, i am going from a 318 2bbl and 2.76 rear gear to this 360, so anything will be a big difference from what i did have. is torque what gives the push you back in the seat feeling, or hp? can anyone give me more info on a magnum head swap? there are plenty of trucks around here i can get heads off of, and i would likely have to go that route, rather than new mag heads...but i thought i would need to have water or oil passages redrilled or something, or that the bolt angles were different, i thought there was a bigger diff than just pushrods. thanks for all of your time, btw. i appreciate it. i just hope im not asking dumb questions....