How to build a 13 second 340 Duster

Arlie, those prices are for top quality work, and good parts. Things I change, that many dont include the harmonic balancer, the oil pump drive ($65 from MP...), the fuel pump eccentric, pushrods, and rockers. I change these because they are worn, in many cases, they'd be fine at stock levels. But what you are asking is 140% of a stock buildup. And failures cause more expense when you are supposed to be enjoying the new engine. The difference between stock and "racey" (which i refer to as quality parts) can be substantial, but in the quotes' cases, they are hydraulic cams, MP stamped rocker assemblies, etc. I want a new engine. I dont want a slightly freshened engine. In the cases where that is what's desired, I'd rather not rebuild it, and simply use bolt ons. But that lack of expense translates directly into lost performance and lost longevity. So, in truth, perhaps what you should be indicating, is your budget and current parts situation (do you own a suitable engine core?) before all else. Just for comparison, thru my shop, a completely stock parts engine (318 in this example) was $3300 out the door last year. Not much of a savings really, when the $4000 360 is 40% more powerful for $700.

As far as the "why correct brand new heads"... The whole reason for building a high performance engine is to make all the parts fit perfectly, and perform better than a factory job. Edelbrock heads are assembled at a factory, and suffer from the same issues associated with std employees. Guides are usually too tight (not all, but 3-5 out of 16), seats may be out of round (more rare, but 1-2 perset that are "out" more than .005"), and in a few cases, incorrect or incorrectly installed springs/retainers/locks all are reasons to spend the $200 over the cost to have them gone thru. As far as Ryan, if he is runnign Cometics or any other MLS design gasket, Edelbrock's surface finish is too rough for them to work propery, so they have to be milled for the right finish. Another example of snowballing when in a rebuild project. The "might as wells" will get you if you're not prepared.