Mattie - as you mention, 300 HP is doable; BUT will it give you what you want "Want a nice cruiser that also will do well at highway speeds"???
What is doable for racing purposes, and how it will "cruise" on the street are two entirely different animals!
Forget the cost for the time being. 1 + HP / CI out of a NA 292 is going to result in an engine that deplores an automatic transmission, and will be a handful to drive around town even with a manual transmission. Now if you are building a "race" engine, where you come off the line at 4000 RPM, you don't have to worry about around town driveability. Personally, I would shoot for MAYBE 240 HP, which should "Want a nice cruiser that also will do well at highway speeds".
But if you are convinced it will work, go for it!
Jon.
