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

Yeah kind of like tearing a engine down and then physically measuring the crank just to see if it even needs ground or if a simple polishing with emery cloth will work. Or looking and measuring a cylinder bore to see if it actually needs bored or if a simple honing will keep it within specs. Ect... physically measuring whether parts are within spec or not. Instead of throwing money at it

Yeah, actually using some skill. lol