Well, I'd say your off to a poor start then. If you were closer I'd GIVE you the blowmasters off of my dart. There are better mufflers out there that don't drone on and on as you cruise down the highway.
If this is your first engine, I would find a 360 core. Change the pistons, cam shaft, add intake and headers. You should be good to go for less than $3000.
Or you could build a stroker like I'm doing, and have closer to $10k in it!!