As my mother would say "not hindered by any knowledge" I would say the 38 would be more suitable. The 44 being the carb of choice for 1300s and bigger, and a 38 is basically as big as an HS4 I should imagine that should be fine. Maybe it also depends on the head you're using.
Of course I know what a dipstick is, you get called something often enough you look it up!
I have been doing hot rod 998s for awhile. Big bores, .060 /080 and larger. Flat top press fit pistons and rods. 295 cyl heads with O/S intake and exhaust valves and surfaced for compression. Camshaft to suit the customer. While I have not tried a HIf 44 I have used the HIf 38 on all of them with good results. Steve (CTR)