To me, I guess it depends on how you shop for certain parts. s/250/230, by the way. 24lb injectors and the right parts will get you to or close to 230hp, from either engine, under the right circumstances. Biggest $$$ ticket items would be the top end items (cam, heads, valvetrain), the right exhaust (including headers) and tsperformance chip. A lot of the costly things can be done by the do-it-yourselfer, i.e., porting and polishing, etc., if you have the tools / equipment (or access to them) and a lot of patience. I am sort of curious about 2.8 flat-top pistons working in a 2.9, though. I'm wondering if the tops of the pistons will need at least relief cuts so the valves don't get demolished. I'm also curious if you can run a 4.0 on a MAP system or a converted MAP system vice the stock 4.0 computer. I've seen MAF conversions and other various and sundry mods for the 2.9, including a 5.0 throttle body conversion.