Virgiina Bronco, Shadow D has some great advice. I think you're best option would be to pull the motor, have it worked on at a machine shop, then put it back in. A garage will charge you about $2500-$3000 for this job. You can rent an engine hoist for $30-$40, as I've done with my 460 swap. You need a hoist to pull the engine, since it weighs about 500 lbs. A machine shop will bore out the cylinders to remove scratches, deck the surface for the heads, replace the cam bearings and freeze plugs, grind the crankshaft, and can rebuild the heads for you with new valves, guides, etc. My local shop charges about $300 to do the pair of heads, and about $400 for the machine work. He quoted me a price last year of $870 for the work, including new pistons and rings. Basically a "longblock" kit, which includes the engine block with new parts and the heads. A "shortblock" kit is around $470, and that's without reworking the heads. I don't see any reason not to have the heads rebuilt if you're spending that kind of money on the rest of the engine. I also replied to your other post about just replacing the rings to address the blow-by. What's happenign is the rings and cylinder walls are worn, allowing oil and the air/fuel mixture to pass. This burns oil, producing blue smoke out the exhaust in the extreme case. It also causes more pressure inside the cran kcase or engine block, which tends to blow out the end seals on the crankshaft. All of this info can be found in a HAynes or Chilton repair manual, which is helpful if you're not familiar with the parts. I'd suggest if you plan to keep a Bronco, buy one of these manuals for $20. Also, talk to your local machine shop or garage, and get some estimates. You might find a better deal than on ebay. JSM84
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