The things he knew that weren't in the manuals...

Exactly. I have a friend who really knows his stuff. He had offered to help me rebuild the engine a while back. But he's been having some problems with his old camaro, so I don't think I'll be getting his help for a while.

I'm perfectly comfortable doing just about everything else on my car. I've rebuilt the carb, installed a new timing chain, set the timing by hand (without a gun), etc. But, I'll probably end up leaving the rebuild to a professional.