For all these reasons, it was my engine of choice when I decided way back in 2003 that my ‘84 Monte Carlo SS needed a little more oomph than the stock 190 hp 305 could offer. I was in college, on a shoestring budget and willing to space out my purchases. It took a bit longer than expected, but I finally completed the swap last spring, thanks in large part to Shakopee-based engine builder Steve Vermeer and my dad, shown yanking the 305 in the photo above.

The new engine is a 350 that was already built and bored .030 over when I bought it dirt cheap from a friend six years ago. I was shocked to find out that that friend, a colleague at my college newspaper named Nate Denay, died in a canoe accident last April, one day after I started the engine for the first time.

Nate was planning to put the engine in a Mazda for the shock factor, but didn’t get around to finishing the project. He hauled it all the way from Michigan in the back of a tiny Subaru wagon before I picked it up. He never started it, sadly. I wish he could have seen it run, even though it’s not quite what it was when I bought it.

My dad and I tore everything apart after the purchase to see what we had to work with and what we might need to buy to meet my modest goal of 400 hp. We found what Nate said we would: a four-bolt-main block from a ’70s truck, a mystery-brand cam with 222/236 duration and .466/.501 lift at .050, Speed Pro flat-top pistons, stiffer aftermarket valve springs and pretty much stock everything else.

The engine came with TBI “swirl port” heads and a Weiand single-plane intake. After a little research, I decided to ditch the heads for a used set of iron Vortecs, which I found on Craigslist along with a pair of valve covers. I sold the old intake and bought an Edelbrock air-gap intake.

Last winter, after accumulating myriad other parts and changing my mind about stuff a million times, I decided it was time to get the engine back together and in my car. To make sure it was done right, I sent everything to Vermeer, who has spent decades building high-performance engines of just about every make imaginable.

Topped with a 600 cfm Holley carb and MSD distributor, the engine made 417 hp at 6,100 rpm and 386 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm on Vermeer’s dyno. It’s exactly what I was hoping for, built with mostly used parts that either came with the engine or were found online.

My dad and I spent a couple months worth of weekends swapping the old engine, which is still pristine with about 35,000 miles on it, with the new one. We cleaned and painted everything along the way, which added some time, but made a huge difference visually.

I put about 1,000 miles on the car last summer and I couldn’t be happier with it, though it still needs a little fine tuning. It feels much faster and I can’t wait to get it to a track. During the 2009 Hot Rod Power Tour, the car ran 16 seconds flat at 85 mph. I think it’ll do much better now, though a new problem has emerged: traction.

The engine is backed with a 700R4 transmission and a 2,200 stall converter and the car has its stock 3.42 gears with no posi. That will change when I have the funds. Until then, I’ll enjoy smoking one wheel at a time.

It’s easy to go broke building an engine, especially if you’re starting from scratch. But with a little patience and a lot of searching, affordable performance is not out of reach.

My first engine build is a testament to that. It’s not as cheap as it possibly could be, but it is a budget-built mill that manages to crank out 417 hp at 6,100 rpm and 386 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm using mostly second-hand parts.

The engine, which I’ve dubbed the Thrifty 350, has been six years in the making. It was finally completed this month and it will soon replace the stock 305 in my ‘84 Monte Carlo SS. Check back for details on the build and the swap and visit the multimedia page to see a video of the 350 roaring on the engine Dyno.