I can add, the days of dropping your motor off at a shop, coming back weeks later, and everything being right and perfect with minimal input from the customer seem to be gone.
As the demand for vintage Mopar Muscle Car experts drops, fewer and fewer shops have direct experience rebuilding the Mopar motors. That said, most machine shops can execute pretty much anything you want on a motor rebuild. But that puts you, the customer, in charge of the rebuild.
Maybe I'm getting picky and crotchety in my older age. But this kind of work requires me to learn more about engine builds, and what I want to ask of the machine shop. When I'm clear with what I think I want, the machine shop is better equipped to advise me.
When talking with a shop, take notes, and research anything you don't understand. This isn't rocket science. Many not so brilliant people at machine shops have produced exceptional rebuilt motors.
Most of the cost of an engine rebuild is labor. This is where the shop makes it's money. You only need to trust the shop to execute the build per your instructions. If they say something costly is needed in the build, do your research to confirm. For example, does every engine block need to be magnifluxed and checked for cracks? Probably not. But I would always check a used crankshaft.
There is only like... 40-50 topics one needs to partially understand with an engine rebuild. But there are shortcuts, too. Like buying a family of parts from a supplier. They can give you advice on which sets or parts work well, together. Some examples:
Camshaft and lifter selection
Heads and rocker arms
Pistons and connecting rods
Some offer whole packages, that have been tested and proven. One example is 440 Source can sell you a stroker crank, with balanced connecting rods and pistons for a target bore in a block. This is a big time saver, and has an added benefit of coverage under a single warranty.
So for others reading this post, don't be intimated by learning a few engine rebuild topics. When you're prepared to be clear with the work you want from a machine shop, many can execute it without much worry. The work is pretty black and white.
