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The surprisingly big cost of an engine swap is the sum of all the little stuff. Pulley systems, steering stuff, headers/exhaust, oil pan blues, nuts/bolts, hoses/fittings, and more all adds up. So if you have an sbc, it's generally cheaper to stay sbc, and vice versa.

I'm an sbc fan and have driven a few bbc cars but have never had one in my ride. That being said, I don't know anyone who has gone bbc and went back (except a couple who changed to supercharged/turbo'd LS-type motors).

When it comes to the motor, more displacement makes it easier to make more power. Whether you go sbc or bbc, it doesn't make sense if you're starting from scratch to use stock stroke cranks. I sort of think of a 383 as the smallest sbc I'd want and 496 for the bbc.

It really comes down to what you want out of your ride. Unless you want to hit the track a lot, shooting for 500-600hp seems like all you'd ever want on the street. You could get that out of either an sbc or bbc, but it would idle nicer with more cubes.

Generally, it's smart to shoot for a little more than you want right now so you can have some time between projects. :D
 
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