Im a fan of small blocks, you will have fun either way, i wouldnt build a 396 no matter what, too many probs with them in my opinion, why dont you just build that 350? not stroke it, just build it? You will be in debt more by building a big block anyways, plus it shouldnt take that much to get that camaro moving, it dont weigh that much, i also like the sound of a small block turning them rpms, nothing like 7500 high side rev.