Experiences with building engine for stock or low stall torque converter

[haromaster87]

Hey everyone,

So I have a 289 and C4 from a '66 Mustang that I will be swapping into my 1980 hatch. I know it's a really antiquated combo, but I'm a really antiquated guy, so it works. The transmission is recently serviced and drives/shifts really well, and the engine runs okay, but needs a rebuild. I've worked out the majority of my build, but now I'm down to the fun what if game of cam choice. I will be sticking with flat tappet at my own risk. I think I can work out the break in procedure.

I'm going to be using FloTek aluminum heads or something similar, somewhere around 180cc intake/62cc exhaust and more importantly with 58cc combustion chambers. I've found a piston that I can use to get around 9.9:1 compression without having to do any milling beyond what's needed to clean up the block. I'm hoping that's enough for good throttle response without being too much compression for a small cam. As far as the car, I will have the C4 trans and a 3.08 rear gear with stockish size tires. The car is a base model 1980 without power accessories so it should be fairly light for a fox.

The next part of the equation is where I have trouble finding relatable experiences to work around. Most builds I find discussed go with a large cams for high rpm power, high stall converter, etc. This car won't really be tracked though, it's just going to be a cruiser for local roads. I'd like more to lean towards snappy low rpm response, and I'd like it to be able to light the tires up from a stand still. I know, very mature. But overall, just something more "fun" to drive.

Without getting into what the C4 may need, I'm mostly looking at the cam/tq converter relation right now. From everything I can find, it seems as long as I stick with a cam around 215* duration @50 or so and something made to make power from around 1400-5400 or so, that should work well with the stock converters 1500-1800 stall speed. I guess I'm just looking to speak to folks who've built more mild low RPM type engines with automatic transmissions. Thanks for any comments or contributions!