You will save money doing it yourself (you've already paid for the block) - anyway, I have trust issues...at the very least, purchase all your parts from KNOWN sources and if you HAVE to let somebody else do the assembly, get lots of references.
I priced out a forged 408 shortblock in a roller block few days ago for a future project, here is what I came up with:
forged 408 shortblock 2400
If I do it myself:
find a roller block that is not trashed minimum 300
machine work to the block, bore work/deck work/clearancing/cleaning/freeze plugs/cam bearings/magged minimum 500
forged stroker 408 kit minimum 1500
engine assembly, do it myself and hope I don't screw it up, or
have a good shop do it 400
____________________________________________________
2700 dollars with some shipping vs 2400 plus shipping
Think I'll be getting that shortblock ready-made, forgot to mention that you would need to pay a shop to do all the balancing and the already built comes neutral balanced for no extra cash. Quote was from Fordstrokers.com, seems like a reputable place.
My 2 pennies
Matt
I bought that very clearancing tool from Hawk racing's ebay store as well as a build your own engine dvd, I held the template to the seasoned 5.0 block and looked at what had to be done and put everything back in the box and a year later I'm still saving for a pre-build long block from a nascar builder.Definatley not for your everyday do it yourselfer.