Is this 408 worth it?

I love the truck - i have a mutt that's dressed as a '78 and I use mine - it's no show queen. It's a plow, a woods truck, a dump run truck, etc. The issue is the engine and to me, the engine is not worth $1000 and buying and then reselling after you swap engines seems like a lot of effort. If you have a 360 and want more steam buy $1000 in bolt ons and power adders for the 360 you have. At least it's a known quantity.
IMO - internal bead locks are cool, but spacers and a Dana 44 front show a lack of understanding of just how a hard driving truck works. if it was a 408 and 4sp I could spit that 44 out pretty quickly if I was wheeling with it.