[olddog]

With AFR-205 and 238int/248 duration @ 0.050" and only 377 cid this engine is not going to have much low end grunt. The Vic Jr single plane will make that worse. I would think an air gap (dual plane) would help the low end and mid range. It would take a lot of rpm, before the single plane would start making more Hp.

I was assuming the engine was completely together, and you didn't want to spend the bucks to pull it back down. Certainly changing the pistons is your best option, as long as you will never want to boost it.

If the short block is together but heads still off, you could mil the heads down to bring the compression up a little. Problem is the heads are permanently altered, and you are only going to gain a half a point on compression.