where do I live?
I live in the SE corner of Iowa, and over the years, when I was racing, developed a raport with a couple salvage yards, as well as friends that salvaged a lot of cars.
As I said, getting a rebuildable engine, meaning one that needs a total going over, can cost as little as $100, which is what I have paid for a couple of them. The most I ever paid for a long block was $250, and it was a running engine.
The best thing to do is to go out there and make some good contacts. You would also do well to look in the classified ads, trader papers, etc. Its not uncommon you can buy an entire running car for what you would have to pay for the engine, alone, at some salvage yards. The nice thing about doing it that way, is there is always the possibility you will have other parts you can use. And, if not, you can always sell the left over car for salvage, and pick up $30-50 bucks off of it.
When youve had to do it the hard way, with little extra cash, it pays to check out every venue, not to mention gaining valuable experience in horsetrading, and mechanical knowledge. I actually got one vehicle given to me for cleaning out a barn once. I dropped another transmission in the car, which I had laying in my pile, and sold the car for $500.