I bet if the factory made a performance version of the 318 during the muscle car era we wouldn't be having these discussions. For some reason people have a problem not seeing and engine as a performance engine if there was not a factory one.
It's like, 340's were limited in years of production, and considering only a few produced, and haven't been produced in over 50 years, and folks throw it out there like they are in every junk yard for 100 bucks in running condition...... lol