I just bought new heads for my old GEN II 383. I pulled the motor apart and found rust on cylinder walls then dug deeper and found shot bearings. Including machining and parts I would probably be about $1000 away from seeing it run again. I've always wanted to swap a 6.0L or 6.2L swap but never had a good enough reason to get away from the 383. The vehicle is a desert racing truck; a 2WD Ford Ranger with custom suspension, a TH400 (manual valve body), 2600 stall converter, 9" rearend, etc. The truck weighs about 4500lbs and spends most of it's time between 2500 and 5000 RPM. I've always wanted the dependability of a mostly stock motor and the benefits of fuel injection for off-road.

I came across a guys selling an LQ9 from an 06 Vortec Max that has 55k miles on it. It's a complete pullout and comes with harness and ECM for $1800. Does this sound like a good price or should I keep waiting it out? I was thinking of picking it up and throwing in a 224/228 texas speed shop cam and ECM tune. I'd like to make upwards of 425hp at the crank. Is this possible with a cam/tune only motor? Any cam/tune recommendations?

Because the truck already has SBC mounts, I could use a standard adapter. Due to space constraints I'm pretty much restricted to block hugger style headers. I figure I could get the whole thing done for about $3500 or so.

I'll probably sell off the parts I was going to put on the 383 or put it all together and sell it or maybe save it for another project... not sure.

Just wanted to get some opinions. Should I go the new route or just put the 383 back together and call it a day? Any input is much appreciated.