[fleming23]

You can spend 10 thousand on a turd.

You need to purchase the correct combo and have everything work together, correctly.

Heads need to work well with the intake, cam needs to match the heads, trans, gear, compression, etc.

Also consider, torque is what gets the heavy car moving off the line. Horsepower is what keeps it moving down the track. I'm guessing the cam in that 454 is probably done by 5-5500 rpm.