318 build up...

Get over the haha's already. When in doubt or starting out choose the milder stuff. Smaller heads,cam,carb and intake for sure. To paraphrase BJR the difference will be in the details. Read up on blueprinting. Deck height, ring gaps,bore finish, valve seal, clearances, etc will make as much power as the hot part of the week from the Wizard of Oz braintrust. Use the KISS approach. A 13.0 car is a lot more fun than a 11.0 or 12.0 car that you've afraid to run because something might break and you way overspent on the buildup. I had a batch of people not believe that my B body 318 was not a 440.(back in the mid 80's) Only had 4 non stock parts. Cam(284 purple shaft) gears(5.57) 9inch slicks and a 735 Furd carb(holley). It wasn't scary fast(13.7) but super consistant. Made three runs one night of 13.95,13.95 and 13.96 without shutting off the engine, just pulled back in the staging lanes. It was always fun to watch the Chebby guys race back to the water trough steaming like old faithfull and hearing the yelps when they yanked the upper hose off to stick the cold water into those hot engines. Ran the engine three years and only changed the oil each season.