It would be worth it to travel to your next closest large city to find someone to build it. You'd save money on shipping, and also save money in the long run by not buying something that was put together shoddily.
The boat I've been working on all summer had a Jasper reman in it when the wife bought it. It was not very old (2018 rebuild) and was freeze and saltwater damaged beyond repair. Judging by the lack of any noticeable wear, I estimate the poor thing had just a handful of hours on it if even that much. While I'd say that they did a fairly decent job on this engine, I don't know that I'd call it a good job. The pistons and rings were of decent quality and were a new, matching set. The main and rod bearings were of decent quality. They did put the proper "marine" cam in it. The one Mercruiser or Volvo-Penta would have used, a GM '7395 cam. The heads were genuine GM '906 Vortec heads. The block was an 880 casting. The crank was not worn, and was turned .01" undersized. I measured less than .0001" variation between the journals and bearings - almost unmeasurable. The finish on the crank journals and main bearing surfaces were good. I re-used the cam and crank.
As for what I did not think was good about this engine, Jasper had mixed and matched some different style connecting rods. They did at least resize them, as some rods had caps that were obviously not married to that rod it's whole life. Same thing with the roller lifters - some had some patina on them, others looked brand new. Even the pushrods were not matched but were different styles. The valves were not stainless steel. There was very little paint on the engine, but I am not sure if that's something that they leave for the mechanic to do since there's no telling what color it might should be painted. Does any of this matter? Maybe not so much in the end, but it is not the way I'd go about it.
I believe that it all depends on who was doing the build as to whether or not you get a decent engine from these bulk remanufacturers. I know for a fact that I'd never get one from them that has as much attention given to doing it right than I would. But there are a couple machine shops within 60 miles of me that I'd use if I no longer had the ability to ensure the clearances are correct, the parts are good (and matching!) and assemble one myself.
This is something people should spend a bit more money on to do it right or get it done right. Pinching pennies here will only lead to headaches in the near future.
