Best 5.0 H/c/i Swap??

i was in he same boat as you, i just bought the trickflow top end kit and supporting mods. i didnt want a drag car i just wanted a fun car to take out on the weekends and drive on nice days. the kit comes with just about everything you need and takes out a lot of the guess work and is suppose to make decent power with room to grow.

i couldnt tell you how it runs yet it will be next month before me and my mechanic buddy can get time to install everything, but dont skimp on the supporting mods injectors, maf, throttle body etc.

Honestly for the money the trick flow kit is about as good as it gets for a cookie cutter combo. 300 to the wheels, 60 pounds off the front of the car, and its a complete package. Personally I like the gt40 combo for a street car but that means sourcing used parts and having them reconditioned and you don't quite put down as much up but it idles and drives like stock which is a huge perk for a lot of people.
Having done this a few times I would urge you to tackle your suspension first. If your current engine is in good shape. Invest in all the chassis stiffening parts and a good set of coil overs followed up with a 5 lug swap so you can upgrade the brakes. It will feel like a completely different car.

For a complete kit, the tfs kit is all inclusive and a descent power producer. If you want more power than that kit you can piece together some different parts. I'd go with the tfs 11r heads,custom grind cam,either a Holley systemaxII or edelbrock rpmII intake,and you'll have to piece together all the incidentals like timing chain,pushrods,roller rockers,bolts and gaskets. With a good setup you can obtain 330-350rwhp and still stay streetabIe. The cost difference isn't for everyone (the pieced together system will cost about an extra 1000-1500$)

Also don't forget you'll have to address the MAF,fuel system and exhaust to support the power.

If you are going to stay below 6500rpms,use a stock block,and limit cubic inches, my vote is the 190cc head. Fti is a great option for the cam. There are others out there like Buddy Rawhls,Brian Friedantag(Freezy) and company's like Bullet cams,Lunati,and comp cams. I went with 205 heads(I plan on building a bigger motor) and a custom cam that Freezy designed/picked and it was ground by Bullet cams. The cam cost me 403$ delivered. The custom option is more expensive but you are paying for an "experts" opinion designed around the exact parameters of your build. Doesn't mean there isn't an ots available that would fit your needs. It just takes the guess work out and maximizes your combination of parts/intended use. For an example my cam has slightly more duration and valve lift(and different timing events) than a tfs1. This while allowing clearance with 2.08x1.60 valves and not having to touch the Pistons. I did have to retard the cam 2* to get acceptable clearance(it fit without but it was slightly too close for my comfort level). All this did was give me the desired clearance and probably raise the power band slightly. There are plenty of people who are running these new heads and making 335-350 rwhp and running in the 11's with full weight street cars.

There are a lot of different aluminum headed HCI recipes and they will all get you to the same ball park of 300'ish+ rear wheel HP. Talking about HCI is a good thing but it should only be TALK if you haven't done the minimum prerequisite mods to your car before adding a lot more HP. They would be; upgrade brakes, adjustable clutch cable, replace old worn out rubber bushings, suspension, subframes, torque box reinforcements, headers and full exhaust, and GEARS.

Heck my 90' hatchback is a blast to drive with 87 octane, 14* timing, long tube headers, full 2.5" exhaust with no cats and 3.73 gears. Dump the clutch and go!

I would do the trick flow 11r 190 cc heads with a holley intake, fti custom cam, longtubes.