318 engine combination

in general, sounds like a decent combo. With your gears and 4 gear, i personally would like a better flowing head.
I see in the 400 horse article they used #302's but put 2.02/1.60 valves in and ported them. They also decked either the block or heads for a almost 10:1 compression ratio. The rest isn't much that any 318 guy wouldn't do. Don't tell me those 302 heads aren't a efficient design especially with more flow. A set of aluminum's would do the same or more I'm sure.