This situation is not too uncommon, especially when the idea that "bigger is better" takes over. Engine performance has to be looked at from a whole system concept, from air cleaner to tailpipe, and all the components need to work together. The whole idea is to keep everything flowing along smoothly without any "slow down" areas or choke points. One sneaky little trick to improve the breathing a little bit on a stovebolt cylinder head is to install 1.6" exhaust valves which happen to be readily available as hotrod parts for small block V8's, and use 1.94" intakes that were used on early Powerglide-equipped 235's. Pocket porting the area right under the valves will help with gas flow a little, but the basic design of the head gets you to a point of diminishing return for a lot of expensive work pretty quickly. Even with bigger valves and some pretty trick porting, the head design is still the choke point that just can't be effectively eliminated. Matching the carb(s) and exhaust to the flow capability of the head will result in a smoother-running overall engine with fewer RPM points where the performance drops off due to mismatches. It's a learning curve that some folks just have to experience for themselves instead of listening to some of us who discovered all these things 50 years ago.
Along the same line of reasoning, every new generation also thinks they invented sex, drugs, and rock and roll!
Jerry
