The MOPAR power myth?

451Cuda said

Yeah I used to build Mopars as cheap as possible - tons of stock parts and used speed parts. Only bought new parts when I couldn't find it used or it was a wear item like gaskets/hoses/bearings/etc. They still ran great and stomped a lot of "built" cars. Granted that was before the era of $300 5.3 LS motors and eBay turbos, but I know if I duplicated a couple of my old setups and added some extra nitrous and a controller it would still be somewhat competitive in local events.

If you're buying all new parts, expect it to be expensive - you're the first "sucker" in the equation!

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Yeah I used to buy used parts but when you hear the horror stories about too tight valve guides and valves coming apart on aluminum heads you worry about your engine turning into a 400 pound boat anchor. I bought brand new Edelbrock RPM heads (bare) and had the machine shop go through the valve guides and install quality valves to limit the chances of issues. The other extra costs are for the rotating assembly. My machinist highly recommended the Molnar crank, rods and pistons. It's also been 30 years since I built the last engine and man have the costs gone up. Almost $300.00 for a oil pan.