The engines started as a gen 5 or 6 502 and is now a 540.....what is the best combination to run????? It doesnt bother me to always have to run 93oct

What kind of power are you looking for? There is a pretty consverative package available with minimal work on the 540's achieving 650 hp conservatively.

what is the package??? just wondering what power i could make with diff. heads, cams, and intake........

Dean Gellener and Jim Valako have a pretty sound 540 package. Alum. Dart Pro 1 heads 310's, Dart intake, Holley 950 HP or BG 850, Comp custom grind cam hyd. roller. The power mentioned is with minimal head work however more HP gain with additional head work. Unless your looking to go blown or turbo charged.

Off the shelf stuff:

Merlin heads


http://teaguecustommarine.com//store...roducts_id=283

Merlin Intake
http://teaguecustommarine.com//store...roducts_id=404

Holley 1050 Dominator
http://teaguecustommarine.com//store...roducts_id=145

Cam
http://teaguecustommarine.com//store...oducts_id=2930

Cam must be determined for gen V or gen Vl
Intake must be determined for 9.8" or 10.2" block deck height

About $4900..............Should make 625-650 HP

You can start on the lower level with some out of the box heads, intake, solid or hydraulic roller and make 650-700 pretty easy. I have done this many times. If you want to spend more, I have used some custom cnc 320 Profilers, Sniper Jr. intake, Demon 1025 RS carb, Jesel valve train, soild roller, currently working on a hydraulic for this application to knock on the door of 800hp @ 6000-6300. I have done 780 HP with the soild roller. Starting a project with Marine Kinetics, to do the same offered in carb or EFI.

700hp would be nice, right now im around 575-600hp with steel heads, victor jr intake and a holley 850

See post #6. You can't go wrong with MER and or Marine Kinetics. Bob Madara/rmbuilder/Marine Kinetics was key when it came to parts for my engine, including of course, the cam. With a mild solid roller it makes just shy of 700 hp and good tq. with out breaking a sweat. It's well mannered around the docks and pushes you back in the seat when the throttle is pushed forward. Best of both worlds.

On a 540 wouldn't DART325 HEAD be much better than a 310. Dart recommends a 325cc head

Just switching to AFR315 cnc heads and a different cam will get close to 700 with the rest of your parts. Add a 1050 Holley and a matching Victor manifold and you will be there.