you didn't specify in your original post which '70 small block you have. if it happens to be an LT1, then sure, have a pro build it. if it's the lo-po version, there is no reason you can't rebuild it yourself with the help of a haynes manual. i find them easier to read than the chilton variety. there are still a multitude of other books out there and all have good information, and in one way or another, are worth the money.
the beauty of the SB1 (first generation small block chevy) is they truly are damn near bullet proof.
i personally encourage people to take it on. it's not nearly as daunting once you finish as you thought when you started.
there's going to be quite a bit of labor involved even if you do it yourself just in machine shop work. so you will have to figure that in, and depending on the machine shop, they may offer to assemble for only a few hundred more than the cost of the machine work. it's always an option if you don't want to take the chance. just remember, that engine isn't special to them, it's just like every other SB1 they've ever built.
i'm a firm believer in asking someone who has more experience for help. especially on this forum, there are plenty of knoweledgable people who enjoy this type of "work" and many would be willing to share their weekend for some beer and pizza.
as you say you have several degrees, just think of building an engine like taking a course. by the time the finals are over, you look back thinking how overwhelmed you felt on that first day, shake your head and smile. being that worried was just silly, wasn't it?

 

Go To Cartechbooks.com............they Have A Book Called "rebuilding The Small Block Chevy" For $39.95 That Comes With A Dvd.....it Shows Pretty Much Everything. Good Luck! '73 In Tennessee

 

These three guys basically nailed it for you. If you don't know how to do this, then find a local club, Corvette, street machines, hot rodders, etc. Get to be friends and find who knows their stuff on building engines (SBC preferred) and ask them to help you. Be sure to throw in some pizzas, BBQ, and so on whenever you guys meet. The local set of hands can be hard to beat. There might be better advice here, but a set of Internet hands don't lift a heavy block off your foot or into the trunk of a car.

If the engine isn't broken, running very rough (shaking), burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles, or doesn't have more than 100,000 miles on it, there is probably very little reason to rebuild it and many reasons NOT to rebuild it.

Around 100,000 miles, most SBC need a valve job, probably valve guides, and seals on the heads. The rod and main bearings may be worn, but odds are they will still go another 75,000 if you keep the oil changed at 3000-4000 miles and aren't running the heck out of it. The rings may be on the the edge, or may be fine for many more miles, depending on how it has been run, the type of gas, and so on.

If the miles are high, you might want to just pull the heads and have them done only. BTW, a three-angle valve job is factory on a Chevy head. Don't let a shop try to charge extra for doing factory work.

If you really want to freshen it up, then pull it, clean it, put in new cam, rod, and main bearings, new rings, and put it back together.

Be careful if you do a light hone. You only need to basically break the glaze but it is easy to over do it and you will burn oil from then on until you bore and install over-sized pistons.

The more times you bore it, the fewer years you will have, as you can only bore them so many times before having to sleeve it. So unless a cylinder is really egg-shaped or pitted, don't bore.

If you pull the block and go to a shop, be specific that they do not deck the block. 99.99% of them do not need to be decked. And a careless person with the decking machine just cost you your original block.

There is a lot to be said for letting the shop do the assembly. This way they are responsible. It is easy for they to suggest it blew up 30 minutes after startup to how you assembled it even if you know they didn't machine something right.

Remember, this is your original engine. Keep it that way, stock as it can be. If you want a hot rod engine, then pull this one, set it in the garage at the side, and build/buy a high performance one. If you are going to blow anything up, let it be something other than the original.

And Matt's comment really is where it is at. There is much truth in the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

 

Let's say for the sake of argument that his 1970 Corvette is a $20,000 car. If he wipes out the original engine, then it becomes a $15,000 car.

Now if you are suggesting to pull the original, set it aside in the garage, and drop in a HP crate engine to play with, then that is fine and even a good idea. But to your question, yes, keeping it is that important on the older Corvettes. It is much less important on the rubber bumper cars, as by that time, most people were realizing it was important to keep the original engines in their cars, unlike earlier years when it was more important to go fast.

I had a '79 that was all original except the mufflers, radio, spark plugs, and couple of hoses. It even had its original catalytic converter, which is rare to find now. No one cared.

 

lots of good advice posted in this thread. if you want to save the org. engine, buy a used one. they can be had very cheap. fellow at work is trying to sell me one (350 sbc) for 150 bucks..it has double hump heads,ect, but the cam has a bad lob. Somrthing like that would be a great start for you.

 

I have a 1971 vert and a 1964 coupe and I've done all of the work myself so far. I wanted to put a 454 back in my '71 (currently has a tired 327/350)) and I had planned on doing it myself. I bought several books on engine rebuilding and read them. I bought a video too, and it seemed pretty easy to do a rebuild. I found a good engine machine shop in my area. I bought a 1970 454 on ebay. I disassembled the engine and brought it to the machine shop and they started work on cleaning and evaluating the engine parts. My number one goal was reliability, then HP. It wasn't going to be a wild rebuild. I just wanted to make it like new again with current tolerances. During the process,l the engine builder evaluated the various parts and I ended up replacing almost everything except for the block, bare heads, rods, timing & valve covers and crank, because the parts were not up to my reliability requirements. During this process I also decided that if I wanted the reliability I was talking about then I should also have the engine builder do the complete engine rebuild. So after doing all of the proper planning and knowledge gaining, I ended up deciding to have the complete engine rebuilt for me. So instead of spending the $1,000 to $2,000 by doing it myself, it cost me $6,666. It cost $3,252 for new parts (pistons, cam, lifters, rocker rollers, timing chain, bearing, bushings, oil pump, guides, rings, rods, valves, stems, head springs, gaskets, center force flywheel, pressure plate & throughout bearing, oil pan, ARP bolts, wrist pins, etc.). It also cost me $1,477 to degrease, glass bead, aligne hone, bore & deck the block, recondition & glass bead the rods, crank & heads, grind crank and three angle valve job. Then it cost another $1,935 to finish the engine build. It cost me $4,500 more than I initially planned but now I have an engine that will be as reliable as a new engine from the factory. And that is what I wanted. I could have done it myself, but I wouldn't have known to discard some of the old parts, I wouldn't have been able to properly measure the clearances and some of the other things that the engine builder did that make it more reliable. So I think the engine would not have been as reliable as it is now. I'm not made of money, it this was worth it to me. Just something more to think about. Good luck. Patrick

 

Pull your engine and set it to the side and save it, Buy a crate engine, alot cheaper than a rebuild plus it has a warranty..(been a engine builder for 15yrs)

 

again,lots of sound advice. If you really do have a "dream" about building your engine, buy a sbc from a rust bucket,junk yard,whatever, and rebuild it. Set your old engine aside. There is nothing that compares, to the feeling you get ,when you first hear an engine that you rebuilt,fire for the first time.

 

Smart man. I gotta agree. Experiment or get experience with a junker. not yourpride n joy 70 vette.