I'm daydreaming of starting to work on my project '72 Dart this summer. I'm contemplating several different routes to take w/the motor.

Probably the cheapest and easiest approach is a near stock rebuild with some mild tuning. Basically, improvements I'm looking at are, from the top down:
1. hi-flow air filter
2. Super Six intake(possibly Holley 5200 vs. the BBD?), retuned as necessary; manifold deburred and polished as far as I can reach
3. pocket port, match, and polish head + 3-angle valve job.
4. stock "marine" cam installed @ split overlap
5. exhaust manifold matched, deburred and polished similar to intake, feeding Dart Lite headpipe, hi-flow muffler, and 340 tailpipe; OR Dutra Duals and dual pipes; OR shorty headers and duals(love that 3+3 sound , plus it wouldn't hurt power!)
6. recurved electronic ignition
7. Nd plugs(my favorite), flex fan, and whatever other sundry doo-dads I can find that may help my cause

I'm undecided on a couple of issues. Will increasing the compression to about 9:1 immediately put me in detonation land? It doesn't take much to get there in stock form, so I'm a little hesitant. I might add that I'm not against running alcohol injection. There is a lot of efficiency in compression, but I just don't want to create problems for myself. Also, I'm toying with the idea of sleeving the valve guides and running O/S valves with 11/32 stems. My thinking being that this will help breathing overall w/o the loss of low-end associated with larger cams. Do you think the improvement would justify the cost?
As for the short block, well, back to the compression issue. I was toying with decking the block if I want a compression increase. Ideally, I was thinking zero-deck(if the deck will tolerate that deep a cut), allowing me to relieve the chambers for better flow and to keep compression within reason. If necessary, and if the domes would tolerate it, I could mill a dish or reverse dome in the stock pistons to further reduce compression. My thinking here is to improve squish, quench, etc. and hopefully improve combustion efficiency.
I am also contemplating lightening the reciprocating parts as much as possible. Basically, grinding off the balance pads and such. I know its a small thing, but at this level, every little bit helps. I'll probably put it together with some DIY specialty coatings for heat and friction. They don't seem too expensive and friction reduction is always good. I'm sure there are some other miniscule things I can do that I haven't thought of, yet. The plan being to find as many little cheap or free ways as possible to pick up 1 HP. It all adds up.
Finally, let's feed the whole thing through a 904 with the 2.74:1 low gear, a 2.93:1 rear axle(maybe even 3.32's), and 26" tall tires.

This is a very low-buck plan here, with me doing all teardown and assembly; I may be able to wrangle some shop time and handle my own machine work, too. If so, I would wind up with a blueprinted, warmed-over stock engine and driveline, with the best pieces the factory offered and, hopefully, some modern updates of my own.

If your still reading this, you must really be bored, but thanks anyway. Your feedback is invited.

Most people think that 3-angle vavle jobs all around are the way to go...but, you should really only use a 3-angle valve job on the intake valves. Leave the exhaust valves a single angle....this will help prevent reversion of spent exhaust gasses back into the combustion chambers. This should help improve volumetric efficiency giving you an extra little edge in hp and torque at all rpm's. Also, on your spark plugs...file down the ground electrode until the edge of it is centered with the center electrode. This helps to give a slightly better spark, increasing hp and torque slightly more through all rpm ranges.

Have fun with it

-Don

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Forget the flowmasters...here come the good ol' GLASSPACKS!!!

Thanks, Don. I'd never heard about leaving the exhaust valve seats stock. It does kinda make sense, considering the exhaust leaves under pressure.
I have heard of trimming the plug electrodes, but had forgotten about it. I suppose it would be good to index the plugs, too, no?

These are the kinds of things I'm trying to make a note of. I know these types of details won't offer much by themselves, but find enough of them and there is sure to be some improvement. To me, it only makes sense to do a build-up this way on a motor like the slant, considering the limited availability and relatively high cost of performance parts. This must have been what hot rodders in the post-war era operated like. If you wanted performance, you invented your own.