Ok i totally destroyed my 496 and i am sick of putting motors together. The 496 was in my 73 Z28 and she is my daily driver....looking back the 700hp 496 might have been a little overkill for a daily driver. So i am looking to buy a crate motor that will putt around nicely on pump has. I have searched the net and all my mail order catalogs for crate motors. I dont have the budget for a Motown or Merlin crate, so my focus has turned to the GM factory builds. There is the ZZ454 9:1 comp, aluminum heads, and an ok cam. 440hp dyno proven.
Ok so here is my question....is it worth the buy?....or would you guys go through your performance shop and build something a little more custom with a little more horse? Or would you stick with the GM crate?. The most appealing thing for me is the year warranty that comes with the crate. If i were to go the crate motor route the first thing i would do is yank the cam and plug in something a little more agressive.

Also do you guys have any other info on other crate motors?
I have checked Jegs, Summit, GM parts Depot, and scoggs. and they all seem to have the same motors around the same price.
thanks guys.