Spend wisely at the machine shop.
1) Always get the block, heads, and crank vatted and magnafluxed.
2) If the bores are sketchy, have them checked to see if a hone will clean them up.
3) Boring is expensive. You'll need new pistons and rings. You'll have to spend more to have the machine shop recondition the rods and install the new pistons on them. I'd only bore the block if the cylinders are bad.
4) Getting the block decked is nice, but not always necessary. You also have to measure your piston depth afterwards and do math stuff to ensure your quench is good. Even if you don't get it decked, you'll want to do the math as a sanity check. You don't want to end up with the piston .030" in the hole and a .040" thick head gasket.
5) I wouldn't have them replace the valve guides. Check the valve fitment yourself, and if they're bad, consider new heads.
Spend wisely on your parts also.
1) Do you really want to replace the cam, or just pep up the engine a little? I have a $150 L98 I picked up, and to spice it up on a budget I'm putting in a stock Vortec cam and a set of 1.6 rockers. The cam was $23 at Pull-A-Part and the rockers (self-aligning, long slot, 1.6:1 stamped rockers) were $131. That's half the price of a new roller cam.
2) Cost vs benefit, you don't need roller rockers or a whole "cam kit". Take the stock roller lifters apart, clean them, and reuse them with the factory spider.
3) A trick oil pan, harmonic balancer, or other shiny part isn't much of a benefit on a street truck. Tackle what will actually improve performance or ease maintenance over what is shiny.
A local tuning shop that is competent is better than a remote tuning shop that is internet-reputable.
Keep in mind the Theory of Constraints. Excepting the cam, most parts don't "make power", they unlock it. The biggest cam in the world has big horsepower potential, but the heads, intake, streetable compression ratio, etc, all get in the way. If a shiny oil pan reduces windage at 7000 rpm, it's helpful for a race engine, but it's not a constraint in your street engine. What parts remove horsepower constraints and how much are you willing to spend to remove that constraint?
1) Always get the block, heads, and crank vatted and magnafluxed.
2) If the bores are sketchy, have them checked to see if a hone will clean them up.
3) Boring is expensive. You'll need new pistons and rings. You'll have to spend more to have the machine shop recondition the rods and install the new pistons on them. I'd only bore the block if the cylinders are bad.
4) Getting the block decked is nice, but not always necessary. You also have to measure your piston depth afterwards and do math stuff to ensure your quench is good. Even if you don't get it decked, you'll want to do the math as a sanity check. You don't want to end up with the piston .030" in the hole and a .040" thick head gasket.
5) I wouldn't have them replace the valve guides. Check the valve fitment yourself, and if they're bad, consider new heads.
Spend wisely on your parts also.
1) Do you really want to replace the cam, or just pep up the engine a little? I have a $150 L98 I picked up, and to spice it up on a budget I'm putting in a stock Vortec cam and a set of 1.6 rockers. The cam was $23 at Pull-A-Part and the rockers (self-aligning, long slot, 1.6:1 stamped rockers) were $131. That's half the price of a new roller cam.
2) Cost vs benefit, you don't need roller rockers or a whole "cam kit". Take the stock roller lifters apart, clean them, and reuse them with the factory spider.
3) A trick oil pan, harmonic balancer, or other shiny part isn't much of a benefit on a street truck. Tackle what will actually improve performance or ease maintenance over what is shiny.
A local tuning shop that is competent is better than a remote tuning shop that is internet-reputable.
Keep in mind the Theory of Constraints. Excepting the cam, most parts don't "make power", they unlock it. The biggest cam in the world has big horsepower potential, but the heads, intake, streetable compression ratio, etc, all get in the way. If a shiny oil pan reduces windage at 7000 rpm, it's helpful for a race engine, but it's not a constraint in your street engine. What parts remove horsepower constraints and how much are you willing to spend to remove that constraint?
