I feel it all comes down to how much machine work you'd have to do- that's where a lot of the cost will be. You could also do a poor man's head swap and run the 100CC Gen 6 Vortec heads on you Mark IV 454 with dished or flat-top pistons. If you are in the neighborhood of 7.0:1 or 7.5:1 I'm going to venture to guess you have dished pistons. In this case, doing the head swap should put you around 9:1 and combined with a healthy camshaft and a nice intake and carb with HEI ignition I think you'd have a pretty powerful combo that would be totally streetable.
There is also the benefit of having a nice warranty that comes with a crate engine. Personally, I like the 454 HO crate engine from GMPP. Kind of hard to beat that deal!
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1970 Chevelle SS396 project with 454/M20 ps,pdb,U14 gauges, rear defroster
84 K5 Blazer 350/SM465
75 K5 Blazer 355/SM465/8 lugs
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