318 value

Well I was at this point a couple of years ago with one of my projects.
I bought a truck, and it doesn't even have a V8. It's a /6.
I could have had a v8. I have a couple of them here even. Magnums even. And my son has a 440 I could have gotten quite easily.
But then I'd have needed a different trans, different mounts, different exhaust, different radiator and more. Things id need for the V8 but didn't (still don't) have. So I guess I committed the ultimate sin. I went looking for a super 6 manifold stack, and I found 1 right away, put it on a truck my kid had. Then I literally fell into a 2nd one, but it came with a catch. For less than many are asking for just a super 6 manifold I found one with the rest of a basket case /6 in pieces at a swap meet.
The catch was that I couldn't buy just the super 6 manifold he had that I wanted, without the rest of whatever he had of this /6 engine. He wouldn't sell anything separately. All or nothing.
My original engine ran, and ran like a sewing machine.
But hey I had most of another motor now. So I built it, and figured why not. And I'd never take this truck down the race track so it would work.
And work with the rest of what I ALREADY HAVE.
Then I sold that original motor, and it went right into another car with just a cleaning.
Like I'm trying to say, about the 318 bashers
I worked with what I had. Ok if you're buying another engine I guess buying it just for a manifold might be crazy.
I built the /6 that fell into my lap, and put the money that I would have spent on the parts that weren't compatible with a V8 into a head shave, block shave, reground cam, bigger valves, made lotsa cast iron dust and some noise with a die grinder for a weekend porting the head, etc and built a better /6. Also I got my money back that the super 6 and basket case motor cost me (plus a few$) for my old motor.
I'm just so tired of the gazillions of people that come into a "how can I improve my 318" post with "cast it aside and get something different" answers that are so common. They didn't ask "what do I replace the 318 with" at all. But that seems the only answer many want to offer.