Hey somecarguy that was I. I ended up spending over budget because I found some bad bearings, and decided to re ring and re bearing. That was inexpensive, but when I got the bright idea to use an autozone tool to get rid of the ridge at the top of the cylinders, I messed them up good. So, i had to have the block bored, and since I was already shelling out for block work, I got the crank ground and then figured I may as well get new rods and pistons.

Basically I learned that with good used short block, with at the most new rings, bearings, and drill hone, all you need is a pair of sidewinder or 440 source heads, aluminum intake, good carb, cam, possibly new pushrods and lifters, and you can have a 400+ hp engine for about $2000