I disagree. I know a couple guys who did 306's and I did a 331, and they all wish they'd spent the extra money on a 331. I went with the "cheap" parts, cast steel crank, I beam rods, but good pistons. The extra torque of the stroker is definitely worth the money. The "budget" kits will easily support 500 horsepower (rotating assembly). I would recommend ONLY Scat or Eagle for crank and rods, machine work is minimal with these. My Scat kit didn't require clearancing for the rods on the cylinder walls either. I have Probe pistons in mine which I think are fine at stock block power levels, but if I did it again that's the only thing I would have changed (to a JE/SRP or Ross piston). Get a set of moly rings and Clevite bearings and you're set.
I personally wouldn't trust DSS with cheap pistons and "stock" cleaned up rotating parts, and Coast I ruled out after hearing a lot of negative experiences. Good person to buy from is Brian at AD Performance (
www.adperformance.com). I bought my kit from him, great prices and he really knows his stuff.