dave-r wrote:Check out 440 Source for prices too.
Forgive Dave, he was still half-asleep while he wrote this!
Cheap Small-block stroker kits used to be harder to find than big-block kits, but it's getting better every day!
I looked around for a friend a year ago (who ended up having a complete 416 built). Straightline Performance , Ohio crankshaft, Campbell Entreprises, Hughes Engines have kits.
No mistake about cast steel, steel can be cast too! (bars or billets have to be cast before they're forged or machined). I'm sure the carbon & nickel content is not the same as in 4340 Steel though.
Price seems correct for the kit you've seen, crank is about $300, rods $290, pistons $600. Nothing extraordinary though.
The rods will be better than the original ones (modern CNC-machined forged steel rods, even made in China, will be better than 30% overweight 30+ year-old ones). I'm sure all rods in the set will be within 1 gram of each other.
A kit like that is good for street use, if you don't get a monster camshaft.
As long as you rebuild the engine taking care of all clearances.
Unless you have a good, reputable machine builder who you can trust nearby, buy the kit balanced.
Me, I would hesitate to buy that kind of parts from an eBay source.