Deciding on a major undertaking( major to me)
 

I've come to a crossroad. I haven't done any testing yet but all evidence seems to point to worn piston rings. I don't know if I want a shop to do this. Its gonna be pretty expensive. I live in an apartment so I cant do any major work on vehicles. I do however have an "auto hobby shop" at my disposal on a naval base as I'm active duty. Basically, I pay a small fee ($30-40) a day and I get to use a lift and all tools instead of having to buy my own. To store is somewhere around I think $35 a month. I've been quoted $1700 for a rebuild not including to pull the engine from the truck. The rebuild kits I've seen are about $300. So that right there is a major difference. Depending how long I take to do the rebuild. I've never pulled an engine and the most extensive engine work I've ever done is change the power steering gear box and the pump, oh and 2 different gaskets, so it's not a lot. How difficult is it to break-down an engine? I figured if I had to take an engine apart, an I6 300 is gonna the be best and most simple . I guess what I'm getting at ,is can any person do it? I have a Haynes, the internet and of course FTE. This might be a build thread if I do it. Sorry guys, for the ramble. I've been throwing the idea around. I feel like I come to you guys more and more. Any pointers? What do you guys think?

Something else to take into consideration is the machine work. Count on at least a couple hundred in addition to the rebuild kit. That said, you are still way better off to do it yourself money wise. If Navy auto hobby shops are anything like Army, then you should have a certified mechanic available for hire there for an additional fee if you get to a point where you are lost or over your head. Pulling the engine is the better part of a full day, maybe less with experienced help. Engine rebuilds are not terribly difficult, just very precise in a lot of the reassembly. I rebuilt the engine in my first car at 14, but I did have a father and uncle both helping when I needed it. You can still save money doing the engine tear down yourself and have the machine shop do some of the harder and more technical reassembly like installing the cam and crank/rod/pistons. My guess is you will still be in for pretty close to $1K between the rebuild kit, machine work, hobby shop fees and the miscellaneous other nagging budget busters that inevitably surface on this major of a job.

Thank you, yes they do have a certified mechanic nearby somewhere. I've only seen military bases with hobby shops. I wonder why civilians haven't done this yet. So in a rebuild. It's wise to have the the heads and such machined? I didn't think about that.

You're right, the 300 6 cyl. is a great learning platform. It's simple and relatively bullet proof.
Teardown is easy, the reassembly is where knowledge and skill come in.
When rebuilding an engine, machine work "can" be a big part of the budget. It all depends on how much wear there is. The machine work on my 360 now 390 ran almost $1,000.
If there are no knocks and the oil pressure is good, then just replacing the main and rod bearings with new should be okay. Check the back of the bearings to see if they are standard or undersize though. The cylinders also need to be checked for wear, although the more experienced people can usually visually tell if a cylinder is "good" or not. You could also have the machine shop check them for you. Clean the tops of the pistons off to see if they show an oversize. If the cylinders are okay, remove any ridge, hone the cylinders and install new piston rings.
Having a machine shop do a valve job and check for head flatness is also a good idea. You need to replace the valve stem seals anyway.
Don't be afraid to tackle something. Just because you don't know how to do something doesn't mean you can't do something!
Like you already know, if you run into any road blocks, you're just a keyboard away from help.