Re-build machining costs for my 98 VS II (or III, not quite sure)

[thejonoaffair]

Hi all!
I'm planning a re-build for my VS Ute. Its got the 5.0ltr GETRAG setup happening
so I'm planning on pulling it down, stroking it out to 355, fixing it up and putting it together again. That ultimate goal is to have a strong, reliable everyday driver that will turn about 250kW once done. (and no I dont want to buy a later model 5.7/6.0 that will do it stock!
My question is,
1) how do I know if its a series 2 or series 3? Its manufacture plate says it was built in May 1998 which puts it right on the cusp. Is there any way to tell for sure?

2) When I strip the engine I want a full machining job done on it, that is:
-Cylinders bored and honed
-Main bearing bores re-ground
-Block and head decks re-cut cut (if needed)
-Valve seats re-cut
-Valve guides done
-Heads ported a little
-Balanced etc etc etc.
Does anyone out there know roughly what this will cost to get done?
Ive worked out the machining will probably be around the $2,000-$3,000 mark.
Can anyone confirm that I'm in the ball-park here? I am doing the tear-down and re-assembly myself so thats not of concern. I'm just interested in what people might think of machining costs.
Cheers!

[cander24]

With minor head porting inclusive in the machining costs, i'd say you're about on the mark to use work i've recently had done as a guide. Just remember that a good porting job can be quite labour intensive and therfore cost a quite a bit though

[Dave93]

If ur car still has its badges, then there will be a SeriesII or SeriesIII badge on the tailgate. Otherwise, I think the SeriesIII S's have got like a blue sort of zigzag trim on the seats and doors, whereas SeriesII ones have like a grey/red trim pattern.

[350HSV]

Good luck mate will be nice once you get it all done