[Alan Roehrich]

If you're on a budget, a 255/350 or a 300/350. I'd lean toward the 300/350, but you may find a solid 255/350 for sale.

If you start from scratch, you cannot hope to build a competitive engine for what you can buy one for used from a good running car. There are too many parts to sort through where you may need to buy multiple cores before you get a really good core. You'll also spend a ton on the "learning curve", buying valves, having valve jobs done and redone, buying camshafts, etc.

Buying an engine a piece at a time and getting someone to put it together probably won't happen, and you likely won't find anyone to do it, never mind save any money. When you buy a race engine for a class car, or pay to have one built, you are not just buying parts and paying for labor. You're paying the builder for his knowledge and experience. Knowledge in class racing comes from expensive and labor intensive R&D.

You also need to decide on an automatic or a stick.