The 318 was practically free, and came with a 727 bolted to it. Once the car is set up for the small block (like my dodge d50) it's a simple task to upgrade to a 340/360/Stroker since the small block mounts/wiring/etc are already in place.
--
needsaresto, you're right about the rotary, they are a good engine. Also very expensive to play with (more than our small blocks)
He's on the College & Working Man's performance budget. I totally respect that, because I've been there. And when he finally gets his recording studio up and running, we can drop in a 20B (or is it 23B?) 4-Rotor Turbo engine instead of the 13B we're taking out to put in the Blown 318.