i dont know if you have been around much american made performance either, did you know that the longer a block(american made) sits in the weather, the stronger it gets. Just because the block is old, doesnt mean it is gonna break. if you are going with an after market motor and fuel cell and the whole works like that, you may want to look into turbo to give you something more to run with the 300hp beamers and porsches in that class. If you are not experienced in driving, you may want to start out in autoX, since that is a little more down to earth, maybe soloII or something along those lines, not a fully modded division. Anyhow, good luck with this car and if 600 bucks as you said he was gonna charge you is nothing to you, kewl.