Hot 318, carb choices.

IMO, this is one of the best bang for the buck carbs out there. All screw-in air bleeds, screw-in idle feeds and pvcr's, secondary metering plate with changeable jets, and the vacuum canister is adjustable to tailor the opening of the secondaries. If your buddy is a Holley guy he'll have no problem with this one. You can use Holley jets, air bleeds, power valves, etc. The only difference are the block and bowl gaskets. I've used standard Holley gaskets on mine with no problem (gotta stretch it a bit), so they can be used in a pinch. I just put one of these on a car my buddy owns and it's a dang nice carb for 300 bucks.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/QFT-SL-750-VS/

http://www.quickfueltechnology.com/carburetors-slayer-series


Also, vacuum secondary carbs tend to "size" themselves to the motor, so I don't think it's too big.