I'll throw my hat into this opinionfest...

... a 2WD 76/77 shortbed with a 302/C4 or 300/C4... I'm a fan of round headlights. Aftermarket support for the 302 is super and C4s are affordable. The 300 is torquey. Both engines can garner 17 to 20 mpg with a light foot. Nice to have (but otherwise can be retrofitted): Power steering and power disc brakes.

Easy to park and U-turns are doable without backing up... It won't turn on a dime yet it doesn't turn like the Titanic either. We all know how that ended.

 

With a healthy cam, a good carb and intake, and a solid rebuild, the 400's can be pretty good. My dad had the 351 in our 78 stroked to 400 then bored 30 over with a race cam, stock intake, 600 cfm 2bbl, and dual exhaust would pull stumps for days.


Jameson