Standard bearings are what you use unless the crank has been turned, crank turning is required if there was damage done to it, mine had grooves in it, had a bearing knock.
An RV cam works with stock springs, if you got high miles you'll want to replace them, match the cam, so if you use the RV cam as mentioned, get new stock springs.
Buy a rebuild kit, but be certain you're using standard bearings first, stay away from Auto Zone for rings, there is no such thing as one size fits all, you gotta cut them to fit, don't bother with those, get the ones that are made for your engine.
Get a rebuilt steering pump and replace yours when you are reassembling the engine, or keep fluid in yours and setting upright as it would mounted in the truck, plugged and full of fluid, keeps out moisture.

Have your heads done, use Midsouth near the square, you need a ring compressor, torque wrench and come by my house to get the rebuild manual I got, I'll lend it to you to give you an idea of needed tools.

 

Ok so after closer inspection and nosing around I see that there are nwe freeze plugs and so emaning rebuild. So the bearings and new and clean but since that oil pump Im going to go ahead and do em with rings. Cause Im trying not to pull the engine cause Im trying to do this fast but right cause my DD is in need of a rebuild (my dad is paying for that one). So Heres my list of things I need and well wanna change:
(from bottom to top)
Oil pump and pick up and Drive rod.
Rod and Crank bearing
timing chain and gears (I need to know the type I should get)
Harmonic Balancer (this one was bad it wobbled)
Water pump just for added insurance
New rings
Cam (I guess I should go with Maples and just get one so I can keep stock springs)
Valve springs? maybe?
New manifold and Carb
Headers something cheap I dont caure how they look just size and performance
Full Ignition (MSD box with Mallory Distrib and hotter coil)
Then the obvious new gaskets and seals

Should I take the heads to someone? and if so waht should I get done to them? Should I get them to match a cam and valve springs?

And how much should I be looking to spend. Im good at ebay and well I can supposidly get a good deal at mikes speed shop since I know his old driver.

 

Clean out the oil pump pickup real good, I did mine, they're reusable, unless you see it full of metal.
If you leave the engine in, only replave the main bearings if you see the rod bearings have tons of premature wear, because there is a trick to getting the mains out and if not done correctly can create a real issue in the future. So, only remove the rod caps one at a time as you replace the rings then replace them in the block, don't loosen any main caps!
Double roller timing set, that's what you want, or gears if you got the cash and are building it for power, I hear they are tight and you can really feel the power when you rev it.
I'd go with an HEI distributor, aftermarket has them available for Fords, hot and simple.
Heads are just a 3 angle valve job, guides and seals.
Headers can be a nightmare, believe me, they matter a great deal, I have the cheapos from Summit, they seem to be OK, don't buy used ones.

 

What do you mean by gears? Im building it for more power so yea...... and on the head work how much should that run me?

 

I can't remember the price on head work, gear drive timing set is what I'm talking about, noisy thoughwhine like you're running a blower. Gear drive doesn't really increase power, it just has absolutely no slack like a chain, it's an immediate grab the seat of your pants.

 

The trick to slicking out top half main bearings is to use the lower bearing shell to slide out the upper half. Gotta be real careful not to nick the crank journals, they are softer metal than they look...

If you really want to mess with headers, get "Block Huggers" (shorties) and plumb the exhaust from there. Many cheap car headers won't do well in a truck because they hit the tranny crossmember.

 

This is going to sound horrid and anti tree huging but Once I get the truck to pass emissions Im goin to pull the Cat and muffle and run straight down pipes from heads to glass packs (or soemthing to get rid of the fuel pop and such)

But oki doki Im going to call Mikes today when I get home from school and ask about the parts I want and the head work I need done. See what my prices are and how long my *** will have to wait to pay for it all.

Would stock pistons allow for forced induction? Just a tunnel dream but Iunno thought I should have a dream for the ultimite sleeper! haha a 84 F250 with a Blown 351W with C6 and 4.88 on 33 Military issue mud terrains that makes any man smile with the idea of killing ricers with a 3/4 ton truck

 

I like Mikes, but he's high, Mid South is a down to earth shop, price check with them and his price, you may be suprised.
It took us a year to do the 351M in our 78 F-150, I sold of some things that were unused and in the way to get some of the money. I got my gasket set and timing set from Ebay, was cheaper.
Stock pistons would not hold up long to a blower, a supercharger is acceptable, but not as effective or efficient on a carbed engine.
Give up trying to compete with the ricers, they are half your weight and the small overhead cam engines will spool up faster than your older carbed V-8. It cost a lot of money to go fast, building a carbed engine really cost a lot. Or truck even with the 3.55 gears will do serious tire roasting of the 35x12.50's in a light rain, I don't get on it that hard in dry, and Goodyear MTR's aren't cheap.

 

You guys got any tips for getting this stupid cast manifold back on without destroying my back or a gasket?

 

If you have a cherry picker or a rafter in the shop handy you can loop a rope over it to take up some of the weight.

If you have a stud or two that you can turn in by hand on one side of the valley (pick two of the intake bolt holes on one of the heads) they can serve as guides to line it up before it gets near the gaskets. Even a pair of metal rods wil do as long as they don't booger up the threads

 

It's best to either go with long bolts with heads removed or threaded rod, just need 4, helps line up and lower the intake over the gasket, keeping from pushing it out of place.

 

So have you gotten any further.

 

I gotta order the gaskets now. I got the timing gears and the oil pump

 

Ok so I pulled the cam and such how do I line the crank and the cam up correctly? Sounds stupid but I got nothing on how to do it. And yes the crank has been moved since the cam came out. Dont ask why.

 

Timing gears have marks, there is a dot, temporarily attach the timing gears to the engine minus the chain, turn till they point to each other, make certain the rocker arms are not on the push rods. Maybe we can come by to help you, if we aren't tied up with repairs on ours, you can get in touch with me by may yahoo address or YIM, markthecrip for both. You need to see the truck since the hit and run, we've loaded up with upgrades, getting another truck to gut and junk.