crate

My beaut took a knee a few weeks back and I've decided to do surgery rather than bury her in the classifieds. Leading up to this, I noticed a loss of power especially in and out 3rd gear, and a week later she started knocking (can't be good.) My neighbor and I planned on taking out the engine...

174k miles later, no oil pressure. Dropped the oil pan only to find good size chunks of shiny metal! Time for an engine swap. I'm trying to see what advice you all have with what crate motor out there is best for the buck. Can I legally upgrade to something better than the stock 290HP...