poor a** rebuilds?

don't laugh! O K laugh if ya wanna! back when I was younger and not a pretty much retired poor ***, I would order a complete rebuild kit and do it all in new parts.
I have a small collection of mostly early A bodies and they are my toys. goal is always to get them roadworthy. used engines, trans, you know, the low buck approach!
I have access to several good shops that will give good advice as to condition of front end as to what I have. question is about lower control arm bushings. can they tell if good or is it a must to take them off to check condition?
if I had just one car i would order a complete kit , assuming they are not Chinese crap. I used PST , for instance, kits 10 yrs ago and back with good results. if the parts from PST and others is not US made I rather hunt on feebay or elsewhere for U S parts.
two of my cars I can tell have had new upper and lower ball joints put on by PO. I would say, ALL these old cars with old upper A arm bushings would definitely need new and best choice , offset bushings?.