Rebuilding an 84 6.9L

[DieselCowboy]

I recently picked up an 84 6.9L and a bunch of stuff for it. I'm using it for a completely custom truck. This being said, I want the motor to last forever. As it sits, it's got X00,000 miles on it. I know nothing about it, except that I pulled it from an old tow truck. I know for a fact that it runs, but I don't know how well. I'd like to rebuild it for peace of mind.
I've priced a master rebuild kit from napa and it runs anywhere between $1,200 and $1,600. Do you guys recommend that I use that? or just new gaskets and bearings? I planned on getting a set of head studs because I'd like to turbo it later on.
Any info, tips, things to look for, recommendations, etc would greatly be appreciate because I've never rebuilt a motor before. I'd like to do the master kit, but I'd also like to avoid it because of the money issue. If it's what's necessary then I guess I'll do it.
Thanks guys!

 

[icanfixall]

Right now the most important thing to do is find a shop that knows these engine very wel. Then have them measure all the parts and tell you what they are looking like. Generally talking there is no reason to do a half job ob an engine rebuild. How far you want to take the machine work is up to the person. For me I want everything tured up. Years ago it was called blueprinting and balancing. I talked to plenty of trained engineers about what I did. The three top engineers at ARP guided me with what they have to offer. Then the engineer at Mahle explained to me the piston balancing.. That was Eric and he told me these engines trun so low of an rpm they can have a piston 14 grams out of balance and still run smooth... Years ago I was talking to the single piston engine land speed record holder at the salt. His name is Al Teague. As I was looking at the car I asked some questions about sppeds he was going. Well at 400 mph the front tires are spinning just over 8000rpm and the engine is around 7400 rpm... Do you think he has a supiour balanc on those tires and engine.... You bet. So getting things balanced and machined true as it was designed will cut done on the parasitic drag because the pistons are not true in the cylinders and to the crank and the main bearings are machined true in the main webs. When you remove the mains and rod bearings look closely at them. See any wear more on one edge.. Well that tells you plenty.. If its a rod then that cylinder was cut not very true to the crank.. If it was the mains then the main bore cut in the block was not true... Getting all this tured up gives you a long running engine that makes more hp like it was designed... It wont make more than the name plate either. When a crank is bedded down in the bearings and torqued properly you should be able to spin it with little to no resistance. If it wont make a full revolution something is wrong. Now some engines that have been taken care of will need very little machine cleanup done but.. You really need to know how to use the micrometers...