In every other thread it is recommended to not cheap out on this or that (rocker arms, balancers etc.) but where is it ok (for you) to use cheaper parts?
I have bought almost all parts for my build so this question is just out of curiosity.
Things that come to my mind are: water pump housing, oil pan, valve covers (as you can see none of these parts are essential for making power).

If APPROPRIATE in your build one example would be hypereutectic cast piston instead of the forged piston. They are less expensive than forged yet high quality. Must be application correct though. A hyd flat tappet cam is over a grand cheaper than going Hyd Roller (Unless you already own parts for a hyd roller set up) but I HATE all the stories of Hyd flat tappet cam/lifter failures. Used intake manifolds generally are a bargain and safe. Factory remanned carbs sadly do not offer significant savings over new- at least with Edelbrock. The old reliable stand by of cast iron piston rings are very affordable but Moly rings offer so much more for the money they have become the modern gold standard. That's all I can think of. I'm assuming your re using an OEM crank and rods. ARP bolts are kinda the standard as they are great quality but there are some less expensive rod bolts like Pioneer.

IIRC, once upon a time there were some cooling issues with the off shore water pump houings, but to be fair there's nothing really wrong with an oem water pump housing. How much lighter is an aluminum housing, like 3 pounds? I can lose a lot more than that off my stomach!

Rockers are ok to cheap out if you use stock rockers and a hydraulic flat tappet cam mild enough to work with stock rockers. That can save a lot of dough over a roller cam with adjustable rockers. I've used a 440 source oil pan and pickup without problem, as well as their cylinder heads. I would use one of their balancers on a street/strip engine. Cheap headers work, although their fit and finish can require a bit of finessing. Like 2bolt said, used intakes are a good option, carbs can be hit or miss. Cheap distributors work, but are usually limited on their adjustabilty and tech support.

Two questions to ask yourself:

1) How hard is it to replace if it breaks?
2) How much damage will it do if it breaks?

So - probably shouldn't buy the cheapest rods you can find. Valve covers - if they leak, annoying but not fatal.

Depends on what you are expecting out of your build. Strictly street, no racing, just a to and from build... cheap will work. Some street racing, or an occasional trip to the track... rotating assembly would not be the place to cheap out. Anything more severe than that... buy quality parts.

Man it really depends.

If it's a stock type rebuild or even mild upgrade, just reuse the stock stuff if it's good. You do not need anything fancy, note I said NEED.

Lot's of people get caught up in name dropping. Who cares in the end.

Before you replace any stock part with something an aftermarket piece ask yourself "why do I need this part?" If it's because it's chrome and you like chrome, whatever. But if it's because it's just a name then forget it.

The stock Thermoquad runs fine and is very tuneable, but too many get caught up in names. It's real funny when someone says "it's got a Holley Double Pumper" and you look and see a Carter BBS.

Or camel hump heads and it's a v6, lol. Or a short shifter and it's an automatic.

IOW, sorry for the tangent, don't do something because "everyone is doing it". Do something because you need it and you know why you need it,

On the valve covers I don't recommend using the Milidon chrome stamp steel covers due to me having sealing problems on a set right now, the gasket sealing area is way to thin to hold the valve covers tight against the heads without warping the V.C. gaskets causing the oil leaks when running
On the oil pans I have used a bunch of the ones Summit sells for the 1970/71 Street Hemi and 440 6 pack 6 quart oil pans, their good with no problems yet
On your deal being in Austria buy the best parts, all of them, you can once instead of maybe having to change some of the parts later due to you not liking them enough to run them, especially motor parts that revolve and wear

What power level?

If 450 hp or less, I wouldn't even replace any of the items on your list if the budget is tight. I wouldn't buy a fastener either unless you are missing them. I've never had a factory original oil pump not meet the oil demand for a stockish rebuild.

On your valve cover issue Cab, have you considered machining the valve cover rail on the head? My local MW guru used to have that problem until he laid a straight edge on the rails and discovered they were nowhere close to true. A trip thru the milling machine and no more leaks or warped covers. All his iron Mopar heads get this procedure now.

Kevin

Then DO not build a HEMI...nothing cheap there.

Edlebrock RPM heads that didn't leak before
Murphy hates me
they are flat also but the sealing surface is real narrow, any one else having leaking issues with their chrome steel Milidon BB V.C.?

Thanks guys! build is around 550-600hp but as I said I have already bought most parts. I'd say all critical parts are quality parts and I probably spent more than I would have to.. lol
Your answers pretty much confirm what I had in mind. Of course, as always, it depends (especially on power level). Only parts that I haven't bought yet are pistons and pushrods. For pistons I'm leaning towards AutoTec pistons which are cheaper than others but should be of decent quality I've heard. Pushrods: not decided yet but Manton, Trend or Smith brothers (7/16 if I can fit them on TF 240 heads).

I believe that stamped steel VC are hard to seal on the aftermarket aluminum heads. My chrome VCs that I've had for 35 years on and off several motors probably 100 time with no issue I struggled to seal on my Eddy heads. Here is what I believe to be the issue, the machined mating surface of the aftermarket heads actually has too much flat surface area requiring more pressure to seal. The stamped steel VCs simply cannot apply enough pressure between the bolts to seal.

Fab aluminum cover are chinese cheap but they work with the thick mounting rail! I went bling with polished covers,or you paint them if you wish.

How good are the off brand carbs like summit? And intakes?

I would look into Wiseco Pro-Tru pistons. I have a set in my 493 and they are much like a full race piston but are about $300 cheaper. I use the Summit brand smooth cast valvecovers with Superformance gaskets.
The Mancini water pump kit is a good value except the chrome t-stat housing. I would stay away from any roller rocker for a street car but Mancini used to offer a bushed Harlan Sharp rockers that would make an excellent street rocker.


Gus

external parts that are easy to replace and do not require machine work.
If you build a good strong short block, it makes the basis for all other mods. Heads and cam should be in mind to choose the correct pistons for compression ratio.
Stuff like intake, carb, water pump, cooling, exhaust system can be upgraded when money allows.
In the past I was sometimes cheap on safety parts. Good insurance to not be cheap on dampner, flexplate, converter, A@A Super Sprag and billet drum.
Highly recommend driveshaft loop at a minimum.

I ended up using the summit $34 chrome valve covers on my edelbrock heads. stock stuff wouldn't fit. the summits have a heavier construction and seal great.


I don't think i'd consider 550-600hp build to be in the "cheap zone". use good parts.

Good quote I read: “There's never enough time (or money) to do it right, but there's always enough time (or money) to do it over.” – Jack Bergman.

and the one we used at work.
"if it ain't broke, keep fixin' it 'till it is !"