“Max effort daily driver” 318 build vs “Budget” 400 swap

I've been in those shoes.
Put the 400 on a stand, don't get in a hurry, keep driveing the 318 and build the 400 with the best internals and heads you can find even if you have to save up more.
I had a 5.9 Magnum short block,a complete running 318/904 and a complete running RV 440/727 when I rebuilt my Duster back in 2018.
I ended up rebuilding the 318 just to get the car on the road the quickest because I only needed headers and motor mounts to get it in...(so I thought)
Power creep( the May as well's or while I'm in there) set in as usual.
I rpm matched the parts, went with the cam that all of my buddies say is too big to make low end (just to prove them wrong again)
I've had a 440 that has been on a stand for 2 years that I JUST dropped off at the machine shop last week. My Duster is a fun car to drive but if I were to do it over I would build the big block.
It cost me $15k to rebuild the whole car in 2018. With small block parts prices today it'd be around $28k to do the same again.