My first time out. what next?

Go the VC!!! Brings back memories of me racing my 340 / 4spd VC at the drags back in the mid 90s. Just bought mine back after 6 years of it being it Melbourne minus motor and box and I'm going to build it again.

That cam is huge for a 318, my 340 with mild j heads, block huggers and a 218@50 hydraulic cam ran the same mile per hour back in 1996 so I think there should be a few more mile per hour in your engine combo.

Engine wise I would try a 650 or 750 double pumper and exhaust I think would be good at dual 2 1/2" but I know how much fun a VC is to get decent pipes and exhaust in.
Putting a small flex fan can gain you some horsepower over the big heavy AC fans for the drags, but not real good for summer here in Australia, especially in a VC engine bay.

I agree that you need some steeper gears for the track with a little 318 that really should love to rev with that cam, maybe throw together another BW diff together with 3.9 or 4.11 gears and a mini spool just for the drags?

Converter with 3500 to 4000rpm stall would be a good idea a little less if you regularly street drive it. I was never a fan of big converters but if you get a good one built (TCE or dominator here) and don't have it made really loose they are still surprisingly driveable.

Hemi Performance list fibreglass VC bumpers on their website but haven't asked if they stock them or can still supply them.