There are so many ways for a 235/261 rebuild to go south... Take line boring for example, each main bearing is a different size. That complicates crank grinding too. I recently had a crank that was supposed to be ground -0.010 and it was anywhere from that to -0.013. Being 4 hours away, rather than send it back I shimmed the inserts to fit. Priced a set of main bearings lately or pistons for a 261? New cams are all but unavailable, which means having a good core reground. the list goes on. If I was Jasper I'd assume the worst in my pricing, so that $7,000 figure doesn't sound too outrageous.
Buying a SBC crate motor is way cheaper.
