It may be a matter of how much money you want to spend and how much you can or want to do yourself. I’ve built my share of motors and big or small, there’s a few things that I always have done and then there’s a list of “optional” items that get done if the money and time permit.

Before you start, find a good local machine shop. You may already know one. Talk with the machinist that will be doing the work and tell him (or her) that you’re on a budget and would like to have an “ala-carte” approach that will allow you to pick-and-choose what you’ll have done. Work with the shop and buy the parts from them. Building a relationship with them will go along way towards a successful build.

At a minimum, I would recommend the following:
1. Take the block to a machine shop and have the block hot tanked. This gets all the glop off makes things a lot easier to work on. Having a clean base is a must for paint as well. You can have the shop measure all your clearances at this time and determine if a bore is required or if you can get by with a cylinder hone (which you can do yourself). The shop can also check the other “vitals” and determine if the mains are square as well as the deck.

2. Have the machine shop put in new cam bearings. You can decide if you able to put in new brass freeze plus and the oil galley plugs.

3. If you have a good micrometer, you can measure the crank. If you’re happy with the results, just get new standard size bearings. If not, you’ll need to have it turned and buy appropriately sized bearings. In that you’ve had this one running, you may well be able to reuse the crank “as-is” with new standard sized bearings. I’ve rebuilt engines with well over 100K miles and been able to use the crank without any work.

4. If your bores are good, inspect the pistons and if they’re decent, new rings and rod bearings will be the ticket. If not, new pistons and rings will be required. This can be a big ticket if you go fancy – Speed-Pro piston and ring kits are $250, JE and Keith Blacks can easily run $900 plus.

5. Your rods are probably okay. The stock 454 rods are really pretty tough to hurt as long as they have good oil. If you’re using the original piston, this is a “no-brainer”, keep the stock rods too.

6. Have your heads done at the machine shop. Talk to them and decide how much you want to invest and plan a course accordingly. Again, if you want to get fancy, you can drop a ton of money here. If possible and practical, have your shop do a good valve job, replace what’s necessary and call it good. If you have extra money – ask Pat McCarthy (on this site) to point you in the right direction or perhaps even build you a set. He is certainly the most knowledgeable on bi.g block Chevy engines.

7. Buy a good gasket set with all the seals. Your machine shop probably will cut you a good deal on FelPro or similar.

8. If you’re going to stay with a stock cam profile to keep the computer happy buy it (and new lifters) from your shop or NAPA. Buy a new, true roller timing set from the same place.

The rest is really straight forward. When you get the block home, scrub it really good with hot soapy water. I like Dawn (get you own so as to not tick off your lady!) Dry the block real good with compressed air and then paint everything that shows. Lube all the inside parts with a light coating of oil or assembly lube (don’t use WD-40).

If you don’t have an engine stand, get one. You can find them cheap (I’ve seen them for $59), but I would recommend one with four casters as they are a bit more stable with heavy motors. If you don’t have an assembly manual, buy one and follow the assembly procedures in the order. Of course this is also the time to add any "bolt-on bling-bling".

I would not worry about cam failure. Break it in slowly and as per any instructions that come with the cam. Use good oil and change is after a couple hours run time and look for any “tell-tale” signs, i.e, metal or water. Take your time and have fun.

Keep us informed as to your progress!

Regards,
Glenn