Help spec'ing out a new small block

Exactly! The cost is high and to much for my wallet.
We can do very well on the 59* cam and a stock block can go pretty far. Exceeding that is a deep dive into the expensive parts.
Bracket racing, IMO, really doesn’t need these parts for the most part and those expensive parts are great for the heads up and go fast anyway you can to win crowd.

My wallet isn’t that thick.
And this is why I'm glad I started this discussion. Starting to add up what it's going to take to build this thing and finding a used engine might be the way to go IF a different combo is what I decide to do. I keep saying it and will say it again.... there's always the option to throw a better flowing set of heads on my short block. lol