Question on a 455 engine

Hi guys,

Here is a rookie question for you. It has two parts.

I have a '72 Centurion with a 455 engine. It is leaking oil and it seems to have a valve tap. The oil leaks near the back of the engine, but I can't see it. I can just see where the oil has dripped. on the floor and that many of the parts underneath have oil on them. I have been thinking of pulling the engine this winter and doing a rebuild. I have never done one before, but I have some valves that look in decent shape from a parts car as well as some other parts that came with the car (new water pump, intake manifolds, distributor cap, alternator and others).

My first question is, given I have no experience in doing something like this, how long should it take to remove the engine? How hard is it to do and do I need to hire a mechanic to guide me through it? I have basic car knowledge essentially. I can do brake jobs and tune-ups, change starters and do the usual maintenance type of things. I have never removed an engine before though, or totally taken one apart.

My second question is that I have found a '455 Pontiac engine for sale that is all there, but needs to be assembled (all the parts are there and labeled, but the guy says he lost interest and moved on to other projects. Can a Pontiac engine of the same size be installed in a Buick easily? I want a second engine around in case I totally screw up the original engine. I also thought I might put the Pontiac engine together first since it is labeled and that it might give me good experience with 455 engines before I tackle my own engine. The guy is asking $700 for the Pontiac 455, but it has been for sale for awhile and I may be able to get it cheaper. The engine is clean and looks like new, particularly versus what mine looks like (I bought the car last year and have only changed the exhaust manifolds and given it a tune up so far.)

Finally, if any of you have ideas on where the oil may be leaking from, and if it entail a lot less work than taking the engine out I am open to ideas there too.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.
 
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