orbitron3000

Hello everyone! I have a Ford 302 Shortblock that I am interesting in trying to restore to its former glory. I have absolutely no experience in rebuilding engines, but is something that I am very interested in becoming knowledgeable and comfortable with. I have little information about the block itself, I was told that it came from a Lincoln Mark VIII and that it has "new freeze plugs and bored out 30 over".

I've taken some pictures to give an idea of the condition of the block.
Ford 302 Starting Condition Gallery

My first questions are:
1) Is the block in a good enough condition to be rebuilt? I.e. overly rusted, looks too worn, imperfections in cylinders, etc.
2) What should be the first step that I take? Should I take it somewhere to have the grime removed, determine actual bore size?

I greatly appreciate all the input as I have no clue where to begin!

mjr46

doesn't look overly rusted, but might not be a bad idea to take it to a machine shop and have it washed and have the bores measured to see if it is what you say it is