What is the end goal aside from a summer driver right now? Do you see yourself tearing back into this for upgrades? If this is going to be a do-it-once-and-forget-about-it project, then Magnum all the way. Pound for pound, you're going to get better mileage and power from one when compared to a similarly built LA.

If it were me, I'd find a 318 Magnum, freshen it up while keeping the stock internals and drive it. Just a 4bbl and headers on one of these will put you around 250 horses.

If this an evolving project, drop the LA 318 into it for now and enjoy.