My first engine I put in my 68 after I pulled the original engine was composed of a bunch of parts I had that were already machined and ready to go.
+.040 400 block and 6x -8 heads. I cot a set of those 8 eyebrow pistons and put them on factory rods with new ARP bolts. I used a ram air 3 camshaft I had and a performer intake with a 650 holley double pumper.
I estimated the compression to be around 7.2:1 7.5:1
Cranking compression was down at 125 psi
This engine ran great on the cheapest 87 octane gas and I was able to burn the tires off the rims all the way up into 3rd gear on my speed muncie. It's all in the tuning of the carburetor and timing.
Don't believe everything you read on the interwebs.