Trying a lil different combo on my 318 ...

Don't over engineer things. A 318 with a small cam, 4 barrel intake and carb, 340 manifolds and nice exhaust will run very respectable with a stock torque converter. A bigger cam needs a higher stall converter and or taller rear gears. The 273's and 318's don't have the luxury of tons of low end torque unless left close to stock. The experts say cylinder head flow outperforms increased compression every time..