probably not, I don,t think I've built more than about 90-100 SBC engines over the last 45 years, ( I don,t count the engines where I only help plan or help assemble parts at friends garages or shops) I have gained invaluable experience! (as I rarely avoid helping any of the local guy with their projects or help trouble shoot problems)
Keep in mind thats only an average of 3 or maybe 4 engines a year and back in the 1970s-1990s I built a great many more engines for the local guys, than I have over the last few years,
(because I made it a rule that the engine owner MUST be on site and do ALL the machine shop runs and parts purchase,s after we discuss each step)SO THEY GET TO SEE EACH STEP AND why WE DO EACH BIT OF MACHINE WORK,
YOU WOULD BE AMAZED AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT SEEM RATHER AMAZED THAT THE MACHINE WORK AND PARTS COSTS LEAVE ALMOST NO PROFIT FOR THE GUY DOING THE ACTUAL LABOR, WORK!
WHY YOU MIGHT ASK?
well when done correctly it takes a few weeks time and the costs for parts and machine work add up rapidly , I want the engines owner to see each step, why it was done and the costs involved, so they know for certain each part of the assembly was carefully checked and the costs were NOT going into my pocket!
that way, when a 383 costs them $7K, or a BBC 496 build costs $11K they know where the money went and why,
I only built 4 engines this year and two were for relatives,and one was a rebuild for my personal, older 1985 vette.
if your doing the job correctly and carefully checking clearances, youll spend a great deal more time and effort than those average guys who watch the TV show about cars would initially believe!
I prefer the BBC ,and a few BB MOPARS in most of my builds.
Ive easily built 60-70 of those (mostly chevy BBC engines)
but I.m obviously in the minority simply based on what all my friends and neighbors ask me to build,
because I get asked to build SBC and lately LS engines regularly
they also get to understand that the cheap crap quality engines they see advertised are cheaply made and you save that cost for a reason, lower quality parts are used or steps in checking clearances or carefully fitting components were skipped.
theres NO FREE LUNCH!