I'm just an impartial observer here but I'm dumbfounded by your skepticism on this engine.
The Cleveland has a very storied history and is a GREAT engine design. You can get a ton of horsepower out of this motor and have something fairly unique and very servicable. Look into the "Clevor" conversion with the Australian 2v heads or match a cam and intake to the 4v heads. This motor breaths like a true big block and if I were to build another motor, other than an FE, it would be a Cleveland! All those Panteras weren't slugs!
Tim