What shape is the short block now? I agree it may not be the best bang for the buck to change pistons.
No way I’d run under a 750 carb on a 440. I won’t run less than that on a 383 either. Run a small carb back to back on either engine and then tell me which one you’d use. Once you feel the power you won’t run a small carb again.
A performer rpm is the best intake I’ve found for a street effort and it did great on smogger low comp 440s I had.
I agree the factory 375 hp cam is likely on target or is at least the outer limit on a truck build.
The OP says he wants low end power and torque.
You drag racers need to keep that in mind. Soon as you bring up a 509 cam you've far exceeded what the OP wanted.
When I swapped a 360 into my M body I ran it with a 650 carb and a 750 carb. The 650 got better mileage, low end and throttle response with less top end speed, maybe 110 mph max. The 750 had better top end speed, with worse mileage and low end. Since I don't need to go past the 125 mph mark on my speedo in a street car guess which carb was the right choice?
