I'm not familiar with camshaft timing effects, so I'm asking here:

Another summer season is coming up towing my trailer sailboat to the lakes with my 1984 B23F, non-turbo, with automatic transmission (Volvo aux. ATF cooler and AmsOil synthetic ATF and engine oil).

This boat-trailer combo isn't heavy (the total is under 1,000 lbs) but, being a sailboat, the rigging it has to carry increases wind resistance. And my particular problem is having trouble keeping up with traffic on some steep uphill portions of highways: 65mph cruising when level drops to 55 and even slower way too often on the hills, even though I used OD-lockout a lot (3rd gear).

Being an '84 (230K mi), I don't think it's worth getting a hotter cam -- especially since these cams' ability to climb to redline (I am pulling a trailer :-) is useless. In fact, all I want (or hope) is to keep up with traffic, so ~65 mph, at about 4000 rpm in 3rd gear, is all the speed I need.

So I was thinking that if those adjustable cam gears (at 4 deg advance) improve lower-end torque on the hot cams, would they also similarly help a standard cam? And if so, how much advance do you predict I should use to improve the 2-4K rpm portion of the power band?

I'm about to replace my timing belt ahead of this summer season, so I thought this might also be a good time to swap the cam sprocket if it will help.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks all.
Ken