Some very interesting replies have been posted, but most have nothing to do with what spiderman ask. Magic Mike is the only one that is on the same line. I think the man is talking about a pickup truck. I have a '67 GMC 3/4 with a 292 and it sits on the scales at 4600 pounds(without my butt).
If anything can be said about a stock 292 is that it has real good low end torque. I suspect that is why GM intended them for trucks. Building a 6000-7000 rpm high HP engine can be done by sacrificing the 292's best virtue. Low rpm pulling power. Replacing a 2000rpm engine in a truck with 4.56 gears with a 6000rpm engine would beg for 4.88 or 5.13 gears. I don't think that is what he had in mind.
I rebuilt my 292 this past winter with the idea that I wanted to improve the low rpm end only and with reasonable investment. I used the LPG(propane) pistons for 9:1 compression. They are 50 grams heavier than stock and I can't imagine anyone wanting to run them even above 4000. The valves are 1.5/1.94. A lot of reasons for this. Many previous valve jobs had sunk the intakes too low. Installing seats would have cost more than 1.94 three angle with blended pocket. 1.72 and 1.94 valves are the same price. 1.94 valve would let more air in without increasing the lift.
I was looking at the Corvette TPI V8 engine (L98 used from '85-'91) and it uses 1.5/1.94 valves. Compared to other stock Corvette engines this one is known best for its bottom end torque. The stock TPI engine actually runs out of wind before 5000.
The stock cam is 188/188 and I wanted to go just slightly longer. 194/204 is similar to the one magic mike has only I got mine (are you ready for this) from Pep Boys. A bigger cam would start taking away from the bottom end. A bigger cam would call for bigger springs and that increases friction, increases oil temp, robs power and cost more.
I did go with aluminum roller rockers, but not because I expected any power gain. Maybe at 6000rpm, but not at 2000. The original rockers showed to be swiping unevenly across the top of the valve stem and caused a lot of side wear on the valve guides. The rollers gave me near perfect alignment.
Long tube headers, Clifford intake, GM HEI (running with stock ballast resistor) and Carter AVS is the rest of it.
I'm certainly in agreement that lump-port heads should make an incredible difference at 6000rpm. I'm just not sure how much improvement they would have at 2500. I would have much rather used a lighter piston than the LPG, but it has a perfect dish that mirrors the combustion chamber. The much lighter Ross has a shallow, but larger diameter dish that extends into the quench area that I don't like.
As soon as I started it up I could feel the power difference. In June I replaced the 4.56 Dana gears with 3.54's and it feels even stronger, because instead of just winding up through the gears(SM465), it actually pulls. In the 1700 to 2600rpm range it accelerates with ease and running just on the AVS primaries. Accelerating at 2600 requires secondaries, but I haven't had it over 3100. Running in 65-70mph traffic is a breeze. It used to struggle to stay at 60.
It's not a 4600 pound shoebox race car. Just an old truck with a new outlook. New disc brakes, P-steering and stepping in the fast lane.
