Help me decide.......

Well Fat Daddy,

You are not going to get a serious increase that will give you a major "WOW effect" from a typical cam, intake and carb swap ... although it will be quite noticeable.
... Unless the car is running like a big pile of dog s hit .... in which event, just running efficiently will be WOW enough.

However, based on you general mpg, it sounds as if your current setup is fairly rich and unable to be adjusted down from this setting?

As you probably know, cylinder heads are the most determining factor in the WOW effect (in conjunction with other goodies) ... and from your input one assumes you are running low-ball factory heads.

Also, for you to input as to what sorta pistons you are running, as this will play a major role in what kinda lift/duration you can run for a cam without the valves and slugs (pistons) bumpin' into each other.

Without full knowledge of what you are running it is more difficult to give you a best solution ... somebody on here might tell you to run a cam bigger than what your setup can handle and then you end up with poor advice and are unhappy with the expendature of hard earned cash

More input would help me guide or persuade you better ... so you have an '84 lincoln engine ... what else ... what car ... what are we missing

Since you are going to retain the stock '84 heads it might be wise to just buy better valve springs to handle a new cam without the possibility of the springs binding or floating when revved. Then we start getting deep into your budget.

Unfortunately for everyone on this site $500 bucks doesn't go too far when buying new parts.
However, you could look for someone that is selling used pieces at a substancial discount. You can find good parts that are just being sold because the previous owner is stepping up in the power game or has a change of heart.

The '84 lincoln heads are even more restictive than a stock HO head (E7 casting) ... this means an airflow bottleneck that will restrict top end performance dramatically ... but running at 5mpg is ridiculous. Buying big parts is not going to do much for a stock block and heads and make the car more unbearable to drive than you can imagine.
Your block is also non-roller, so a good hydraulic cam will be fine

Soooo, based on what you have here is what I suggest:
*New valve springs with around 110#'s closed and bind above .500" lift
*A cam and lifter set with about 268 duration and .450" lift with around 112* lobe seperation angle (perhaps a Crane set)
*Tried and true Edelbrock 302 Performer intake
*Tried and true Edelbrock 600cfm electric choke

Again, going bigger is not necessary as your heads are a major bottleneck.

Fuel pressure on a carb car will between 5-7psi ... with this mild setup you should be able to achieve around 16mpg average and still have good throttle response and mid-range power with a noticeable lope to the idle.

Good Luck

Phatt_daddy said:

....... As for the carb, I know you reccomended the edelbrock, but how good would a Holley be. I can get either for about $10.00 difference.......

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Well it depends which Holley carb you are referring to ... the 650 double pumper with mechanical secondaries is a good carb and will provide more fuel with the secondaries open compared to the Edelbrock units (which supports making more power).

However the Holley vacuum unit is a throw away carb .. they work for a while, but need constant rebuilding and are known as a throw away carb or paperweight.

I recommend the Edelbrock because it will provide all the fuel your stockish engine can make and most people find them quite reliable and fuel efficient.

Phatt_daddy said:

....... As for the cam according to your recommendation how would the Lunati bracket master II #638-00064LK w/ 284 deg adv. duration and .488 gross lift. I am not looking for a serious WOW factor here, just something to give me a little more umph. After all I drive a stock '87 model with the stock 2.73 gear, a stock clutck kit, stock pressure plate, and except for the .040 bore, a stock engine.....

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This cam is a little big for your setup and will be a slouch down low, yet want to bring the power on late in the rpm range where your factory heads and intake are not going to be able to provide the flow that it will demand. So it will be doggish down low by not providing good air flow velocity (lazy air) and then when it wants a big gulp of air in the upper range the heads will choke it too much.

Also with the 2.73 azz in your car, it will take forever for your engine to even make it into the operating range of the cam.

I've had stockish cars with 268 grind cams in them and they had real gruff midrange power Also, don't compare the lift of a hydraulic tappet cam to that of a roller hydraulic tappet cam ... the roller tips allow for a cam to be cut with taller lobes on them ....

Remember, bigger is not always better ... a well matched engine combo will spank a poorly matched combo 9 out of 10 times