Where do I start....?

guess its about time I pop back on this thread. I am now a US Marine, and this coming Monday I begin my MOS training as....A Mechanic! I mean its on AAV's (Assault Amphibian Vehicles) but least im learnin! Im WAY motivated to get the old gal here and into the hoby shop, but that wont happen till I finish training and get my to my permanent duty station.

Question: I have yet to aquire a better rear, so im thinkin im gonna have to make the 7 1/4 do for now and go ahead and build and swap in the 360/904. if im easy on it, am I still in danger of blowin out the rear? the 360 wont be crazy, im lookin at 300hp range, if that since I want the think to get decent mpgs so I can DD it. im thinkin get the engine in and drive for a while like that, then the next big job would be the suspension/brakes/wheels.

Speakin of brakes, I have 9" drums all the way around. again, if im careful, am I putting myself in a lot of danger runnin on them with a v8? should I do brakes 1st?