Today, dollar for dollar, is the 318 faster than the 340 ???

I actually enjoy dirt road builds. They're fun. It's like hot rodding almost at its inception purt near 100 years ago. Plus, it's mostly all I can afford. I have the knowledge to build an 800HP engine just like some big names, but I'll never be able to and it doesn't bother me. I actually LIKE where I am in the hobby. I'm havin a blast.
i can tell you are having the time of your life with that Early A. It's genuine! Before there was ever a Roadkill show, I was roadkill. It's how I enjoyed the hobby. Never has a drag strip been shut down for clean up due to my junk (oops... jinxed myself !). However, I've waited countless times in staging lanes for over an hour due to some expensive machine shop build exploding. Cheap doesn't mean unreliable.