My first car was a 71 Duster with a 318 3 speed. My buddy had a 62 Impala SS with a 327 rebuilt to "Corvette" specs. My well worn Duster walked away from him.
I am now in the bigger is better camp and am building a 408 for my Dart, but I am of the opinion that it's YOUR car, build it how you want. All of my GM buddies think I'm crazy and say I should put a big block in my Dart. "That thing would be NASTY with a big block in it" I can't wait to take them for a ride with my "small block". I wish I could set up a dash cam and capture the looks on their faces when I let it eat!!