:-) You guys are giving me great stuff. Pearls of wisdom. Keep it coming! Thanks much.

So here's where things stand as of today. I've had the 305 about 3 months, and have torn it down completely. Disassembled the cylinder heads even. All the parts have been exactly tracked to which cylinder they came from etc ( I have a very good, detailed build manual I am learning from).

Block
Block is in good shape except for 1 oil galley plug hole which needs to be rethreaded and clyinder bores needing to have ridges bored/honed out. Need a cam bearing removal and install tool and new cam bearings. Machine shop will do all of these and i'll get the usual block services done. Eventually. After I do a full mock re-assembly or 2 just to go through the motions. Right now I've got the block completely cleaned with a home pressure washer, solvents, burshes, gun-bore brushes, etc. I've done the soapy water wash 3 times as well. All run-out water from the engine now comes out clear, and you can touch any place internally and not find residues/dirt. Tonight I masked off the block, painted it with a Duplicolor engine enamel (silver colored), and then lightly coated all the non-painted surfaces with WD40 to prevent rust. I'm giving the paint 4-5 days to really set then plastic bag the block and set it aside.

Block components and rotating assembly
Crank is clean and coated in WD40. Light discoloration down the center of each journal which will not come off. Crank key removed and the key-hole deburred. Camshaft cleaned and lightly coated in WD40. All pistons cleaned except: still need to clean tough deposits out of ring grooves, and cannot remove pins so cannot clean inside piston heads. Does cleaning with oven cleaner in the oven really work? I will clean grooves so I can put new rings on them, but not much i can do about the wrist pins. I marked the pistons w a punch. All main bearings and caps, all cap bolts, all connecting rod bearings and caps cleaned, tagged and bagged. Timing set cleaned. Oil pump is next to go into the solvent. Oil filter adapter cleaned. Timing cover trashed. Got a new one complete with all gaskets for 20.00. New Fuel pump also 20.00. New water pump 59.00. Accessory brackets are trash will have to replace. Alternator known bad when i bought the motor. Damper and pulleys still dirty but plan to clean and repaint them. No starter, have to get one of those.

Fuel-air delivery
Original Rochester carb was badly broken. I took it apart to see how it works, but ended up trashing it. So to get the engine to run I'd have to get another carb. Intake manifold is badly rusted and may have to be replaced-even for a 'learner' engine. All the various emissions control bits and sensors on the intake are in a bag, but they look like they are original from 1981, so those probably all have to be replaced.

Exhaust manifolds
Cleaned up pretty nicely. Painted with high heat 2000 degree enamel for exhaust.

Valve train
Mess. Cam is the only thing that looks good. Cam bearings still need to be removed from block and replaced. Valves look, to my untrained eye, like a total lost cause. They are so badly charred. Every one of them. I wonder WTF happened in this car. Anyway will try to clean them for the initial mock re-assembly. Will clean with solvent and see if i cant polish them up. Will need new rubber seals for the valve guides. Heads themselves are a mess. Repeated cleaning making some progress. Rocker arms cleaned up fine and are organized. Tappets still need cleaning. Going to buy a new set of pushrods. Lost track of cylinder assignment on 3-4 of them. They are cheap anyway, and really even after repeated solvent cleaning have proven in bad shape. Metal is badly pitted.

Electrical
Besides sensors, will need all wiring, plugs & wires, distributor, coil, alternator.

Miscellaeous
will need thermostat, and many other small odds and ends.

So the question i'll have to make a judgement call on is when have i learned enough and therefore its time to swap the 305 for a 350 or other SB. right now not counting tools and expendables like solvents and paint i have 100 spent on the initial purchase and about 100 spent on replacement parts.