Broke 15 year olds. How about broke adults?:) You are exactly right, the hobby must be fun and accessible to continue. I remember those scrapyard scores and even today.
( general comment: )
I can't afford a stroker crank, new rods, pistons, associated machine work. I"ve run 318's because that's what my vehicles came with. Never once thought I was wasting my money on those engines. I don't go for the "if you ain't getting max horsepower, you ain't sh*t" mentality." I like the UTG channel and his philosophy of looking at the whole build of what are you trying to achieve. Been in this hobby 40+ years, by the metrics of some of the posters on this thread, I shouldn't be here.