Buying a crate motor

[62lwbc10]

Dear All, Im intersted in buying a crate 350 SBC for my 58. Can you please share any experiences regarding the vendor you chose? I see you can buy these things from Jegs, Summit Racing , GM PArts Direct, etc. Is there any advantage to use one vendor over another? I also see that some of these vendors (i.e. Summit) sell aftermarket motors and also actual GM motors. Of course the genuine GM motors are more money, but with the aftermarket ones, you seem to be able to get more HP for the buck. Any preference regarding genuine GM motors vs. some aftermarket brand? Finally, I see there are MANY different versions of the 350 available, from the very plane Jane 190 HP model for 1500 bucks up to, well, the sky's the limit, and I also see there are some motors that are specifically referred to as being for trucks. What makes a crate motor specifc for a truck application? Im thinking to get a very mild motor, maybe 290 HP..seems I can get one for a little over 2 grand.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Kind regards,
Mark