couple interesting thoughts from others in another parallel thread on For A bodies Only - the bottom line being there probably isn't much difference unless yer really racing or pushing an engine harrrrd -
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopa...-an-a-body.109176/page-4#post-1974344910Sounds like the bottom line is there likely isn't much difference between regular and "HP" manifolds, at least not so much that anyone would really notice, with the exception being real racing where an engine is really being pushed hard and/or money is involved. That is a really interesting point, and it's one that is difficult to describe because, lets face it, most conversations about muscle cars revolve around 'power!' but not much around just a nice warm driver, and that is what I'm building - fun enough to enjoy the 'V8 thing', but not powerful enough to get busted all the time for chirping tires - just a nice 'reminder' of the musclecar era without all the anxiety
.
I've also noticed it is getting difficult to find a machine shop to discuss a 'stock' engine rebuild - most seem to want to go for maximum power (for sure when considering cams), but fortunately one of my local machine shops takes the time to listen and understands that some folks just want a nice stock-ish rebuild. As far as cams, I can say that the cam I got from Comp for my 360 is juuust right - it's right on the edge of loping and should have real good midrange improvement - it's their #20-745-9; 212-218 (264/270), .480/.480, 114* LSA, with matching springs. With my otherwise stock mag 360 it seems to work really well for my 'truck' application. With the Demon tho I want a big more cam - I want that nice musclecar lope but I don't want the big overlap and have a bunch of unburnt fuel dripping out the exhaust pipes, so for my 318 I'll be looking at something with a higher LSA like the one in the 360, and like the cam above if the exhaust duration is increased a bit I'll be that much further towards not 'needing' the HP manifolds.
