Cast silvolites are $250 dog turds, LOL.
Why not mill the block that .050, and the intake to match. It's a 318 that no one else is gonna spend money on, so might as well make it custom. Besides, a good build is going to start with some machining, so the only additional cost is in milling the intake, right?
I'm not against low cost. But the disconnect is that low cost doesn't come free, it usually means more effort. Often much more. Low buck and low effort almost always nets low output.
Plenty of fast guys are on budgets. Many of them invested savings in tools to make cheap parts into fast parts. Plenty of them also share their findings and methods for free. I'm not saying it's easy to duplicate, but it can definitely be done when the effort is put in. Anyone whinging about expensive parts should be grinding on a set of heads or finding deals on used stuff instead of wishing the world was different.
Speaking of, why stop the wishing at $250 cast pistons? Why not $500 stroker kits? Why not free? Why not just make a law? LOL.
Budget also isn't only about part cost. It's the whole package. Putting more $ into pistons will probably net savings when it comes to gear converter, etc. Goes with that "money well spent" part.