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

I’ll take torque over horsepower any day. It makes the car much more drivable, easier to tune, requires less RPM to do the same work and takes everything down. You can use different cam timing too. It’s just better unless you are building drag cars. Torque wins every time in my book. Even in a drag car, torque is what makes it move.
I beg to differ. I prefer HP and let the torque come in where it will. Convertor and gear is my huckleberry.