I'm sure location is a key factor but If I had 1500.00 and a 5.0 went for 2500.00 I would get a loan before I bought a 2.3
Don't get me wrong I own two 2.3s and I love them both. One I can take some light moded 5.0s with and the other is a nice cruzer. I just think people has it in their minds building a 2.3T or owning a SVO is a easy way out. It is if you got some good machanical skills and a little time to hunt parts down. It takes me a week to do a tune up since most of the time my parts store as to order everything I need. Then most machanics are compatent enough to work on a 302 but I want trust anyone to work on my 2.3T