The mechanic I talked to at the local machine shop here in Wilmington says you have to.

Besides that, he says that my heads are not bad. However, he said I've got a bearing that is about to spin. He claims I can just jack the car up, drop the oil pan, and replace the bearing without actaully having to do an entire overhaul. Is this true?

ttt

please, somebody.

Does anyone know, at least, if I can changed the bearings out just by dropping the oil pan while the motor is still in the car?

I don't see why you couldn't change the bearings with the engine in the car. Getting the oil pan might be a chore, but once it's off it shouldn't bee that hard to change out the bearings if everything else looks good. Are you very mechanically inclined. If not I would recommend reading up on this. I think Shoebox may have an oil-pan removal guide. After the pan's off it's all gravy.

To take the motor out of the car from the bottom, he is correct...you can drop the k-member and detach the front suspension and pull the oil pan off.

You can do it both ways. I removed it out the top many times. In your case you want to replace the bearings then you can do that from the bottom by removing the k member. Just make sure you support the engine. Why not do a little more work remove the engine and change all the cam bearings as well.. Just my opinion

Well, all I have are the basic tools:

Wrenches, ratchets, etc. I don't have cherry pickers and whatnot.

I would try to borrow, rent, or buy one. It would make your life easier if you decide to do the job.

You're living on a prayer if you just slap bearings in it with the engine in a car. If you don't have the crank mic'd and clearanced checked, you are wasting all your time and money, IMO. Pull the engine and do it right. If you are doing your own labor, then it's just more work and very little extra expense.