I'm probably a couple of years away from actually doing this but I'm curious as to what it takes to learn how to properly tear down and rebuild an LT1, if you don't know anyone who can actually teach you.

What are the best books for easy to understand theory/step by step guides etc. ?
How much of a tool investment is required to do the job right? I have all the basic car tools right now.

 

For hands-on learning, I'd grab a service manual (or at least a Haynes or Chilton's)
and a blown scrapyard engine to mess with. That way you can
do pretty much anything you want without messing up your daily driver.

How far are you looking to go with your teardown/rebuild?
Are we talking heads/cam or down to the bare block?

 

Thats a great idea! I already have the haynes and it does give a lot of godo steps but doesnt really go into the detail for some things that i'm hoping. They use a lot of terminology thats greek to me maybe some basic books on engines might be a good read as well..

 

The factory service manual and this book should be most of what you need for LT1/4s. Chilton's and Hayne's are good for some stuff, but don't come close to the info in the FSM.