I'm kind of in the same boat with my 273 build. I have a 67 Barracuda Convertible with a 4 speed that I rebuilt in 1995, basically stock using the Comp HE-252-H and it is VERY stock. I'm in the process of pulling the engine for a performance gain but since I use this car in parades I don't want some crazy lopey cam that will not idle and puffs fumes of unburnt fuel into the marching band behind me.
I have read through Tool Man Mike's build thread probably ten times and wanted to do some of the same performance upgrades, but I'm afraid I might wind up with a killer street machine like Mike has which is not suitable for parades and my wife driving it from time to time. I really like the Isky E-4 cam because I want to stay with the solid lifters but it's just a little too wild for what I want to do.
If there was a way to tame the E-4, get it to idle well and still have all the benefits of a great cam, I'd go that route but for my purposes I believe it to be a little too much. If I had more cubes, could run 340 heads (without notching my block) or a higher compression I could probably use the E-4 but I need to find a compromise in between what I'm running now and the E-4.
I have read on this forum the quality of Comp Cams has slipped since I did my first build in 1995, but will probably have to stick with them because they can offer me a solid grind in almost any cam I select.