Today, dollar for dollar, is the 318 faster than the 340 ???

So you have built this 400HP 318 for $3000? What did it run, 1/8 or 1/4?

My 340 was .030" over, ported Edelbrocks, 11.4-1, Weiand X-Cellerator intake, Hughes 236/242 @.050", .580"ish lift IIRC hydraulic cam , 750 Quick Fuel, 727 with a 9 1/2" converter that flashed 5400, 4.30 gears. On a 275 radial it ran a bunch of 7.24 @ 94 in the 1/8 and 11.60 @ 116 in the 1/4 @ 3240#. These are real world numbers, not it should make ***, my buddy knows a guy who....... or inflated magazine builds.

I'm not saying a 318 or 5.2 can't make 400 hp or run 11's because they can, but it's not as easy as bolting on headers, intake and changing the cam. If that were the case you'd see tons of them at the drag strip on Saturday nights. Don't even mention stockers or super stockers because they are a breed all their own and you will not see guys who have $3000 budget running one any where near being competitive.
Sounds like you would have been better off getting a 380hp crate motor! They ran mid 11's in light a bodies. That's a fact that is well documented. Alot less cam, converter and head and roughly same performance. I still find it mind boggling that the factory give everyone the recipe but no one wants to cook it.

318willrun has documented a 318 duster in your neighborhood of et. So better refine your combo