318 2bbl manifold swap with OE cam - worth it?

Man, I keep going back and forth on all this swap stuff. One day I'm doing the swap, next day it's not worth it. Then the day after that I'm building a wild 318, the following day I'm building a stock stroke 340 and then by the end of the week I'm on to a 500 hp 340 stroker. Sometimes I even get the wild hair to use the existing 318 for a max-effort build, put most of my money into chassis and convertor upgrades and go racing. Boy, analysis=paralysis! Wish someone paid me to actually do this stuff, I'd be rich.

The 'minimal cost' thing of a basic manifold/carb swap seems to add up pretty quickly when you factor in proper linkage, gaskets, carb rebuild kit, fuel line and filter, air filter and all the little misc. trips to the parts store. Plus, I need to replace the water pump, a leaky valve cover and an exhaust leak.

Then there's the 'if- then, why not' deal where if you're going to replace the water pump then why not put a cam in it while you have it all apart...

Probably shoulda never took the car down the track in the first place.