Find me complete 440's for 200$ and i''ll buy as many as you can find. You seem a bit out of touch with current pricing.
I'd agree that stock heads are junk unless you are running in a class that requires them. Simply put by the time you have a set of iron heads redone to simply function again your well on your way to a set of modern aluminum heads.
There is nothing wrong with the rods. I've built 2 440's on stock reworked rods and both make 500hp and both are still together today after over 10 years.
The crank is only junk if it's cast and even then they are usable by some. Albeit I would never use a cast crank in aything.
To the OP. I paid around 750 for both of my 440's. One was a 67 and one a 69hp. One came with a tranny though. Tranny's go for 150-200 around me so that still leaves you at 550-600 for the engine.
