Is it worth it???
build it yourself
that way you know where the clearances and ring gaps/bore sizes are really at.jmo
p.s & how good a machine shop they are.
REcommended to me by someone I trust, so..........
My first Barracuda had a race engine in it(well, a 273 that pushed 422hp on the dyno) and would turn 12's on pump gas. Ended up developing a water leak while on a long trip(drove it from Mississippi back to Pittsburgh, and the cause was DFA, Dumb F___ing Assembler, Me) ended up making pancake batter in the pan, but tried to drive it the 100 miles back to my Dad's, ended up round a lobe. Came back from Mississippi(in the USAF), yanked the engine, disassembled, sent out to machine shop I trusted, they boiled it, did the heads(valve job check, guides, etc) and put in the new freeze plugs, cam bearings and the new cam, which was a little milder than the radical **** that was in it at first. I took it home, spent about 3 or 4 hours on checking clearances and assembly, then another couple hours putting it in the car, and had it running that night, ran like a monster.
In auto school, we did Pontiac 389's, and we had timed disassembling, and then timed reassembly, and to pass, you had to get it running, and it was one person, one engine. Never had a problem, it's just that it's been a long time since I've done one, and I know that it's sorta like riding a bike, so maybe I'll get him to do the machining, talk to him about tips, etc, and then put it together myself.
Hell, I'll be doing 99% of the other stuff myself(well, maybe not 99%, I won't be the one spraying it when that time comes).
FF