With 499 cubes you can make roughly 850 hp with fully ported 440-1 heads. That is about the upper limit on a good budget. There is more available hp wise but the cost goes up fast when you start looking into the parts needed.
The rpm will go up some as well. For that power you will most likely need to shift at 7300 or there abouts. You could keep the revs down if you really want to stay at 7,000 or below but it will cost some of the power. The 440-1 heads will make great power from about 5000 up. I ran 9.30s at 2000 DA with 2980 weight, 499, unported 440-1 heads and alky as an example of what they can do if you shift at 6800.
For valvetrain take a good look at T & D stuff in as high a rocker ratio as they will make (1.7?). I have had a lot of greaf with Jesel stuff.
You can move up to a B1 head at this point if you have the budget for pistons and other items required, and those heads should allow for another 50 to 75 hp over the 440-1, maybe more. If you chose to go B1, I strongly suggest getting a good center weighted crank to keep the block alive. I am going to post results of my switch to a center weighted crank after I post this.