As far as the cam itself is concerned, it is indeed the heart of the motor. Whether you end up with a motor combination that is a pleasure to drive or a combination that you'd just as soon drive into a lake and forget it is tied directly to the camshaft.

I see this constantly with inexperienced engine builders. They'll use a long cam with the stock compression ratio and then they don't understand why their car is slower than it was with the stock cam.

Static compression ratio is directly tied to the cam characteristics.
Dynamic compression ratio is directly tied to the cam characteristics.
The torque converter you use is directly tied to the cam characteristics.
Rear gear ratio is directly tied to the cam characteristics.
The induction system you use is........well, you get the idea.

Any cam you bolt into the motor has an operating range of about 3,500 rpm's. It may be effective from idle to about 4,000 rpms or 1,500 to 5,000 rpm's or 3,500 to 7,000 rpm's or whatever. So, when you are planning the build, you need to determine the operating range of the motor before you ever pick up the phone to begin ordering pistons, heads, etc.

From your first post: "The goal is reliable transportation, significant torque, low buck assembly, and fuel economy. I am actually not concerned with horse power output."

With this in mind, I would build the motor to about 9.0:1 static compression ratio with a tight squish (0.035" to 0.040") and use a cam tied to the scr. A cam such as this.....
http://www.cranecams.com/?show=brows...tType=camshaft
or this.....
http://www.cranecams.com/?show=brows...tType=camshaft
would work well in such a motor. Read the "description" in the upper right hand corner of the cam card as well as the "Recommended RPM range with matching components" about halfway down the cam card on the right side. Pay particular attention to the "matching components" verbage. You want to use parts that will work well with the cam you choose, particularly in this day and age. Oil companies have deleted most of the extreme pressure components from their oil formulation due to pressure from OEM's and the Feds, so I'm hearing and reading about more and more cam failures. Here's a link to another CHR thread with some more information about that.....
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31284