That is typical wrecking yard mentality, they see an area where particular parts are being bought up & jack their prices up. It has been happening for decades & will continue until the parts we are using are depleted. Example, an old friend used to run a hemi powered roadster in the old AHRA/NHRA roadster class. I got to go with him to the Gator Nationals in the early 70's. He scattered his engine after an attempt at a record run, he asked myself & his partner if we wanted to go on an engine run. This meant taking basic hand tools & going to the nearest wrecking yard to scavenge a hemi short block. While we were there, he bought 2 short blocks to have an extra just in case. At that time, he paid $300.00 for each short block. We went back to the track, stripped his engine & the donor engine to build him another race engine. Back in the early 70's, hemis were plentiful & really inexpensive compared to today. As the parts sources dwindle, parts become increasingly more expensive, I'm not condoning the pricing on the 440, I'm just relating how things have changed over the past 4 decades.
