John,
Everything you need has been said here - power to weight, hp, torque, gearing. If you go with Don for a total build he's got an experienced (read old) engine guy who does them right, so all you need to do is define basic wants and not worry with the details. Matching up the drivetrain is important for having the car you want - while I've got more HP & torque than a sane man needs I hooked it up with a Tremec TKO600 5spd, Detroit TrueTrac 4.11's in the rear and 31" tires. Shuttle launch bottom end, but with the 0.64OD it cruises at 2000 rpm at 70mph, and yes I've got size 12 brogans and while tight it works (sorry Don, I love shifting the gears). I'm not one for tuning for sound, or even worse selecting a cam for the idle characteristics - Comp Cams is selling a lot of "Thumpers" to the kids who have nothing but a lopey idle. Posers, pure & simple. The hot rod idle takes care of itself when everything's matched up and tuned for performance/efficiency.

Bob's idea is a great one, by the way. LARS would give you opportunity to see a ton of right built hot rods, and probably some wrong built, too. Talking to guys face to face is a good thing.