would this 540 be a good buy?
 

540 CUBIC INCH BIG BLOCK CHEVY ENGINE, ALL NEW Dart Big m Block # 31273444, 9.8" deck and 4.5" bore Eagle 4340 Forged steel crank 4.25"stroke 2rms Eagle 4340 ESP H beam rods [3d] w/ L-19 rod bolt upgrade 6.385" Je/SRP forged pistons flattop 9.4:1 compression Mahle plasma moly file fit racing rings 4505ms King alecular pro rod and main bearings Durabond special coated cam bearings Rotating assembly balanced internally on Hines balancer. Dart Pro 1 cylinder heads 325 cc runners 2.3" intake valves and 1.88" exhaust valves both race duty stainless steel w/ large 1.560" diameter dual w/ damper springs and titanium retainers, screw in studs and guide plates. Comp cam #xm 296hr-12 custom ground hydraulic roller cam Comp Cams retro fit hyd, roller tall body lifters #8954-16 magnum Stainless steel roller rockers Engine is completely machined and assembled in our shop. This engine should make 600 + hp @ 5600rpm and approx 675# tq @ 4000 rpm. $9500
http://saskatchewan.kijiji.ca/c-cars...AdIdZ285047258

It does not have inconal valves though. the motor is only 3 hours away from me.

well... parts are parts but unless the guy doing the building has some skills, you could easily be buying shiny new junk. i particularly like the " SHOULD make 600 hp.." seems to me that you go thru that sort of effort, then you pay for the dyno days so the motor actually has some credentials to support the claims...

Yes i understand that. the person never ran it on a dyno, there are not many dynos in saskatchewan. and its a month wait to get it on a dyno here.

i bought my current boat and thought it was a great deal because of the "fresh" motors, fresh paint, intakes, carbs, and fresh dirt in the bearings judging off what i found when one developed a rod knock less than 10 hours of use later.....
if you were picking it up from a reputable machine shop i would be more comfortable with it

I just got through building a very similar engine and spent 10k in the US. I suspect to build one in Canada it would cost almost double. They claim 2hrs run time, If they would give some kind of warranty, I believe it would be a very good buy.

Just my .02

The Canadian dollar is basically equal with ours. Things are still more money because of taxes but not double.
Have someone look it over. Ask good questions as far as how tight the motor was set etc.

a warrantee is meaningless. your warrantee is the research and due diligence you do yourself before you hand over your money. and in this case, i don't care if the motor is on mars... the fact is that this guy is going to hand over hard cash based on a promise and not a shred of concrete evidence that the motor is any good. . if it works then he is fine. if its assembled by bozo the clown and blows up then his money is gone forever. the risk resides with the buyer. do your homework. you aren't buying ginsu knives ....

Do you know anybody else who bought an engine from this shop?

does the cam sound like it will work for marine use? i havent had good luck finding the cam specs.