Commando 304 plans

Hey all,

First post here. I recently acquired a '73 Commando with a stock 304 and 3-speed. The carb needs to be rebuilt so I am thinking of upgrading a few parts while I'm at it. The axles are 3.73s and tires are small 235/75/15. 80% of the driving will be on the street with some mild to moderate trail use. This is a hobby vehicle so gas mileage isn't much of a concern, but if it could get above 10mpg I might drive it more. I'm looking for smiles per gallon. I want to get as much out of the 304 as possible without spending crazy money.

I'm a newbie when it comes to engines. I have read a fair amount, but still have a lot of questions. Here's what I am thinking so far:

rotating assembly - leave stock
exhaust - stock manifolds, 3" single
intake - edelbrock Performer (waiting for a good deal)
carb - Rochester Qjet (spacer adapter)
cam - Summit 8600 with lifters
fan - electric fans

Here are my questions:

Is the 8600 too much cam for the 304? Is a manual transmission more forgiving of too much cam? I'm planning on hydro-boost brakes instead of vacuum... if that matters. I'd like to err on the performance side for cam selection as this will be more of a mall crawler than a trail rig.

Is the Qjet a terrible choice? Too much CFM? Hard to tune? I'm willing to put in the time to learn Qjets, but also don't want to compromise just to save money. I like the idea of small primaries for throttle response, and off-camber trail driving, but I still want to get as much as possible out of the cam etc.

Any other recommendations for this project? Besides start with a 360 or 401 instead.