'Budget' 340 build suggestions

Well, here's what I've been considering.

Block - lets say I go to SK Speed here on LI - tanked ($125), magged, ($100) square decked (not just decked) ($85) bore and hone with toruqe plates, ($160 up to .030) ($65 more with t.p.) line hone, ($140). After machining requires a through cleaning and painting, which naturally adds to the cost. Let's say $750.

Rotating assy. - 273 crank, 318 rods with ARP bolts ($58.95). KB 243 hypers with moly rings ($342.99) Melling oil pump, ($59.95) Kevko pan and pickup ($210 - little expensive, yes). new bearings (not sure which ones yet). New pan bolts, gasket. Thinking about an Ishihara Jonhson crank scraper ($69.95) Rear main seal too. Balancing an internal Assy. @ SK is $275. It's another $40 to add the damper for balancing and the flywheel/flexplate is another $75. Let's say another $1,200 at least. I'm already over my budget by several hundred. That's a $2K short block using basic stuff. Not cheap parts, no but not wildly exotic either. Just a basic street machine deal. Sigh.

Continuing on - have a timing cover, need a new crank seal, timing chain tensioner. Various gaskets and fasteners add up fast.

Comp Cam 280H kit is $390. Includes cam, lifters springs, locks, retainers, seals.

Smith Bros. pushrods? Not cheeep. Guess I could go with a more economical choice here.

Have a set of NOS 273 rockers but I also have a set of hyd. rockers from a set of '302' heads I could use with the juice cam. Need shafts, hold downs, fasteners etc. I've stopped adding at this point.

Thin head gasket $30 @ Monicatti.

Heads - Used 360 heads with a mild port job - let's say $900 or OOTB RHS Indy LAX heads @ $900. Either of these would be better on a 340 with 2.02 valves which seem to add a few hundred bucks depending on where you buy them from. The EQ's are $799 from Hughes but require the Magnum valve train. It'd end up being the same as the other choices in the end. Need head bolts, would rather not use ancient ones from some old engine.

Having an intake and carb seems like pissing in the ocean at this point! Guess I already knew that 'engine build', '340' and 'budget' can not be uttered in the same sentence. Ahhh well. Was interesting to look up the parts though.

Unless you work in or own a machine shop or know someone willing to do the work for super cheap and have tons of parts laying around, there's basically no way to build even a mild performance engine for less than $5K in 2010. Even if I just rebuilt the 318 that's in the Dart right now I'd be in for a couple K. :angry7: