engine build for reliability

Hah! This will meet with ridicule, but if you really want reliability, pull that 318 and put in a slant. It will run forever...

My ex wife blew up a slant 6....

I'v e run 318's for many years and hundreds of thousands of miles... I got my old 68 Barracuda fastback at 180 k miles and dropped in an old reliable 318 and got both the engine and body to 500,000 miles...