As much as i like what they are doing, I will say that I don't know how budget friendly this would be for the common man. All 3 of those guys would tell you that 318 hp would come much cheaper if you could just buy performance parts. I think turning a crank to stroke, porting heads and bench flowing, and such as that would be high dollar prices if a common man had to pay it at a machine/performance shop.
Agree with what you said. It is just a vanity project. They are going back to hot rod roots using what you have on hand or what you can scrounge. The way it used to be before a lot of these parts were readily available.
It is unlikely anyone will try to duplicate their effort, but we may learn something from it. That's what holds my interest.