IF it was a small block I would definetly say the best buy would be a crate motor. You can't build a good small block for what Ford is selling the crate motors for. My brother bought a brand new 351W for $2500 with tax in 98 and its been a great motor Although I looked at the big blocks and all they are selling is the higher compression motors. Which is fine if you want to go all out. I wanted a daily driver in the Minnesota winters and run on cheap gas. Everything that I found is around 10:1 or more compression. I built a motor with 8.5 compression so I could run the cheaper gas since I am getting 10 MPG. I think I still spent more than $5000 on parts. I don't want to add it up. IT runs great though. I would recommend it you can find a good new crate motor with the compression ration you want to buy it. You will probably be money ahead.