Originally posted by mad hooker
yea it is all what your trying to do. right now on my project i had to come to a decision myself. i broke a connecting rod in my engine,it gored the block and ruined the whole engine. i looked at a new long block, its 1600, i can get it for 1400, through my uncle , but this engine is for a 74 van. so im aiming for 350hp. the long block im getting comes with 290hp at 5100rpm. and it comes with a cam, all new! im gonna swap it out but just add a few bolts ons and i have what i want for my engine. if i started from scratch with a yard engine, all the machine work and parts and all that.... it would cost me way more than the 1800 dollars that im putting in to it, so in the end its what you afford and what you want.
What you are failing to account for is in changing the pistons and cam. The engine would have been balanced for the pistons that came with the engine. Replacing the pistons would require rebalancing the engine. This isn't saving money.

Get the ZZ4 engine, pay the extra and get the complete assembly for $3500 or so. It's a 350 HP engine, you won't have to buy an intake, cam, etc. And you won't have to pay for the balancing.